INSIDE NANA'S HEAD

GIVE AWAY COFFEE GEVALIA KAFFEE

2012-02-12T18:18:00.007-06:00

I have taste tested the Gevalia Coffee and was asked to post about it and also offer a chance to some one else that would Love to try it in my Blog.

This give away is provided by Kraft and sponsored through My Blog Spark.

All I can tell you is it tastes delicious and you don't need as much to make a pot of coffee as you do the other brands. I do take cream and sugar in my coffee so I had my Husband taste it since he drinks his coffee Black and both of us had the same opinion.
If you would like a chance to win some of this wonderful coffee (Kaffe) here is what you need to do. Leave me a comment about why you would like to try this coffee or maybe you have already tried it and what you liked about it. You must be a follower on my blog to enter and new followers are welcome
For more chances to win you can post about it in your blog for 1 extra chance

Post it on your side bar for a second chance

Post about it on FB with a link back to my blog for a 3rd chance

And last but not least if someone tells me you sent them to my blog you will get 1 more chance.

Please let me know what all you have done in just 1 comment and I will add that many more chances for you.

That means you have 4 chances to win. I must have a way to get i touch with you should you be the winner. If the winner does not send me that information within 2 days another winner will be chosen.

Thank you for visiting my blog and this contest will end on Feb 26th so that gives you plenty of time to tell all your friends about it

This give away is only good in the U S due to shipping fees

GIVE AWAY COMING SOON AND UPDATE ON OTHER STUFF

2012-02-08T17:57:00.006-06:00

I have officially sold my first cook book and it has been set aside and she chose to wait until the end of March so additional recipes can be added as they come in the mail. I am giving all buyers the option to ship cook book as is on Feb 28th..or wait until the 15th of March or the end of March and I am sure I will have a few more good ones that I know are on the way.

I just received a nice Amish recipe and also has a picture of the Amish Buggy on it. How cool is that. It isn't actually a Famous Celebrity but I think it is very interesting. I have also included my favorite recipe (by request) and will be including one from my Daughter "Nellie"

I will accept orders now for the cook book with payment and will then put it aside with the buyers name and they will be the first ones to get mailed out on the date of their choice.

My one DIL is re typing some of the pages for me so they are updated and I will be going back to the printer next week for some more copies of recipes I have received this past week.The newest recipes I have are for Chili (and much different than my own recipe) also Fudge, Pecan Pie, Strawberry Delight, Apple Brown Betty, Scallops & Avocado Salad, Short Ribs and more. Some Celebrities still send a nice autographed photo and nice letter.

I will start putting the books together next week and will be adding new recipes as they come in the mail :)

I have finally decided who will benefit from the sale of my cook book and I will blog all about it in a future post. She is an awesome Lady with some very heart warming stories
I also received my 2 Bags of Coffee to do a Taste test and will then be offering it as a give away in my blog
I did try the one that is House Blend and I think I made it a little bit to strong which is a good thing because it means I don't need to use as much as I do with the regular brand we use now.
Next time I will try the French Roast next and will let you all know what I like best and why and then will be offering a give away in my blog for some lucky person to win the same thing.Thank you for visiting my blog and please feel free to leave a comment as I always enjoy hearing from everyone that visit's my blog

GETTING NEAR THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

2012-02-05T18:16:00.008-06:00

I enjoy helping others in need whenever I can and especially Pets that have no voice and can't ask for help.

I have a goal now to help some pet rescue centers with part of the proceeds from my cook book.

I do have another goal and that is to be able to sell enough to save up to move back up farther North to be closer to my Friends and Family. There is no way that can happen from our retirement income soooo along with the cook book and selling on ebay and a few Garage sales I hope to achieve that goal by July 20th (and I did put a reserve on a U Haul for that date).

I know it will take more than 1 truck to move all our belongings but since it will be Billy and I doing all the packing and Loading and driving we may have to make a second trip.

I do think I can achieve this goal since I have always been able to do so in the past. Here are just a few of the newspaper articles about my achievements in the past (YES...you can get free P R from most all newspapers) This first picture is Nellie and I showing the news reporter how we put the Cook Book's together. This was 20 years ago and he came to our houseI guess his favorite recipe was from Brooke Shields and he liked the picture of her :)
This is where I made about 25 Gingerbread Houses and sold them at a craft sale to help pet shelters
This is the young boy I helped with CP to get some Chairs he needed. He is now 16 and is going for special driving lessons so he can be able to drive some day
This is the article that the news paper did about it and when the Jaycees saw it they donated part of the chairs plus another man saw it and came by my house and wrote a ck for $300.00 for the last chair. Made me very happy even though I only sold 2 cook books (on that round) and I was able to achieve my goal to help Josh
These are just a few things I have listed now on ebay so go take a look if you can
My Husband even decided to part with his collectible saw to help the moving fund :)

Here is a link to my auctions so you can check everything out and also don't forget to check out my selling blog for some great deals http://www.ebay.com/sch/makingmemoriesnana/m.html?item=270908087952&viewitem=&_trksid=p4340.l2562

I will be adding more all week that a lot of you crafters might like

WERE YOU BORN IN A BARN ? AND I AM A WINNER

2012-02-02T22:00:00.005-06:00

This is a very cute story...My Granddaughter Amanda was not born in the Hospital..she was born in the back of her Dad's (my son) Van. The top picture is my son and his wife holding her in the Hospital and the bottom picture is me holding her. You should be able to read about it in the newspaper article below. Now when she forgets to shut the door and my son asks her if she was Born in A Barn...She just reminds him "No Dad...I was born in the back of a Van. If for some reason you can't read the article below I will edit this post and print what it says.Amanda was born on August 17th 1984After Dan delivered Amanda he continued on to the Hospital and pulled in emergency lot and when they asked him if he needed help he just said "Can you please help me get my wife and daughter that I just delivered out of the Van and into the Hospital". Physicians at the hospital were kidding him about pursuing their positions. Amanda is now planning to get Married on Aug 11th and has also gone through Nurses training and is also continuing her degree with courses on line. She works at a nursing home and enjoys her job. Maybe being born in the back of the Van helped her achieve a good life.
I still have this news article from many years ago..time sure does fly as we get older doesn't it
I also won my choice of a painting in another blog (link is posted on my right side bar) and this is the print my Husband helped me choose. It took me all day to decide since she has so many wonderful paintings to choose from. Now I have another goal that when I find a bigger house I would like to cover it with paintings from this Famous Artist

A WINNER AND OTHER NEWS

2012-02-01T15:28:00.005-06:00

I put all the names that actually entered on pieces of paper and put them in a bowl for Billy to pick one. Annie wanted tho help :) but I told her she couldn't eat paperSo Billy picked a name and...the winner is...drum roll
Karol..Congrats to Karol. I need you to email me your mailing info so you can receive your gift card in the mail and I hope you are able to make lots of goodies. I wish everyone that entered could have won but there could only be 1 winner. Let's all congratulate Karol..now read on for something I would like to share with all of you
I actually got goose bumps when I watched this..and this is why I do what I do to help save pets. A very heartwarming story
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/01/handicapped-puppy-melts-hearts-on-today-show/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LifeWithDogs+%28Life+With+Dogs%29

71 SO FAR AND STILL WRITING LETTERS...&.THIS IS A .LONG POST :)

2012-01-28T23:14:00.016-06:00

I now have 71 great recipes and am still writing letters. So far in order to get these recipes I had to write at least 160 letters this time and over 500 last time.

When I started the postage for a letter was 29 cents...big difference and I have learned a lot since the first edition I started with the help of my Daughter "Nellie" who just turned 12 at the time.

I wrote the first letter on my typewriter and just wrote Dear....on the top and then I would write the name in on copies I made (how tacky was that huh?)

Nellie and I would go to the school Billy worked at nights and they would let Nellie use one of the computers in the computer room and she did do some of the graphics for me. She was sooo proud to be able to know how to do something that I couldn't do. We did not have a computer at home and I didn't know how to use one anyhow.

I also had a friend and one of my sweet DIL help me design the cover and this is how they looked and still do. (I may change the color when these I have are gone)

This is how it looked on the inside and this is my copy and was thinking about writing "Second Edition" on the cover now
I can still remember my youngest son and Nellie licking all the stamps and also walking to the mail box in front of a grocery store to mail my many letters and how excited we would get when something came in the mail. This is the recipe we got from Nancy Regan" and Nellie was able to put a picture of the Monkey on it because the recipe is for Monkey Bread (and it reminded us of when Ronald Regan played in a movie with a Monkey) :)
Then we got a really nice one from Johnny Cash also and it was yummy and he even put a joke at the bottom. He said it was from his Mothers recipes and I guess that is why it tasted so good.
This picture is actually in the wrong place ..It is right inside the front cover and is the second page with information about the Author
I will never forget how excited we were when we got an envelope from London England from Benny Hill. He sent a post card inside an envelope that he autographed and hand wrote the recipe on the back. His handwriting was hard to read so we typed it so it could be read :)

Another one of my favorites was from Lady Bird Johnson and she hand wrote extra things to use to make her recipe at the bottom and then she signed it...I Love that one too
I wrote my cook book as a tribute to my Mother and Father and know they are looking down on me and I'm sure they are proud that I stuck it out and met my goal
These pages were written by a friend of mine who's Husband wrote poetry for funeral homes. He also wrote one for when your pet goes to the other side of the Rainbow and I have it in a frame with one of our special pets that is no longer with us
With all that being said I would like to say ...Am I worried about people making copies to give to a friend..Yep..I am sure that will happen just like when my 1 DIL took 2 of the recipes and entered them in a contest (without the Celebrities name of course) and did she win..YEP she won $25.00 for each of the 2 recipes and she is the one who told me what she did.

I also had 2 Libraries buy one from me and I will never do that again. Why would anyone buy one from me when they could check it out at the Library and make copies...my sales dropped to "0" which also meant I no longer could donate part of the proceeds to help pet shelters or anyone else.

I was able to help a little boy with CP get some special chairs because the Jaycees saw the article about me trying to help him in the newspaper and they donated the chairs. Another man drove to my House and wrote a ck for $300.00 for him and that meant I netted $1,200.00 for that young boy. I have seen him a few times since then and he is now old enough to take driving lessons to get a drivers licence.

I saw an article in the paper where a man lost his wife to Cancer and he had 3 teen age Children They were looking for donations through a bank. When I called the bank they said it was over..and it was just in the paper that day. So once again I raised some money through sales but didn't get much. I mailed it directly to him and apologized for the small amount and told him maybe he could just take his kids out to dinner. I got the nicest Thank You letter from him saying how it helped just knowing someone cared to try and help.

My biggest goal was when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and so many people lost their homes as well as their pets. I was glued to the T V every night watching Anderson Cooper and seeing the people crying for their pets and then seeing all the pets they were sending to a shelter in Miss made me try again. I went to the Library (still didn't have a computer) and got the address of that shelter. I wrote to the shelter and talked to them on the phone. They mailed me pictures and flyers and I went to every store I could find that would let me put a jar on the counter plus sold more cook books and just kept sending them money every time I had some. I also made as many pet beds as I could for a lot of the dogs and cats that were in cages and separated from their homes.

Overall I think I was able to make a difference in a few lives and my goal is to do it again and now I have the help of a computer but is still a lot of work. I no longer send the same letter to every celebrity and am making them a little more personal. over 90% of celebrities go through agents and I am learning which agents just toss my letters in the trash. It is one of the bigger agents so the letters are harder to get a reply from.

I have even had some agents write a refusal letter. Excuse me but for that same amount of postage they could have sent a recipe. I did just get a refusal letter from Martha Stewart and you would think she would jump at the chance to do something to help her ratings. Another one was Oprah and Calvin Cline...same type of letter.I am spending many hours now on the computer and trying to figure out who might actually reply with a recipe.

My goal now is to start taking orders on Feb 28th in honor of Nellie's 32 BD (wow 20 years)

so stay tuned and don't forget to enter my give away for the free grocery card. Just scroll down to the post about the giveaway to leave a comment

I AM HAVING A GIVE AWAY FOR FREE $25.00 GIFT CARD

2012-01-25T23:09:00.005-06:00

I am having a give away until the 31st of January for a free gift card for Publix Grocery Store. Just leave me a comment on which of your family's favorite meals you most look forward to preparing at home with products purchased at "The Best Meals Happen at Home Publix Event.

This Publix Gift Card information and Giveaway have been provided by General Mills through

"My Blog Spark"

With the economy the way it is I am sure many of us could use an extra $25.00 for Groceries. I Love to make things up ahead of time and freeze the extra for another meal . I just found a wonderful recipe for using GM Cheerios to make Chicken Nuggets and can't wait to try them.

Please be sure and let me know of a way to email you if you don't have a blog so I can let you know if you are the winner.

I will put all the names in a bowl and have my Husband pick on on the 31st and will announce the winner on Feb first.

You must leave a comment in this post to be entered

Thank you to all of you that leave a comment and for visiting my blog.

Click on the link below to save on groceries with coupons
http://www.bestmealsathome.com/

SHE MADE IT AND I AM "PROUD"

2012-01-22T21:08:00.005-06:00

The weather was really bad in Chicago on Thursday night and they were forecasting up to 8" of snow for Friday. My DD Nellie" was in a panic thinking her show that she worked so hard to produce would be cancelled. Well she had a Full House in spite of the nasty Chicago weather (70 tickets) Most all of the other shows in Chicago were cancelled as were the schools closed every where. I am very proud of my Daughter for reaching most of her dreams and goals.

There is no secret to success, just commitment and know-how. Success is based on hidden opportunities. Many of these opportunities lie right before our eyes and once we learn how to recognize them we can set our goals. The people who help you realize your dreams are one of life's most valuable assets

.Nellie was in the Drama club in High School and I remember baking the Brownies for them to sell during a play many times. Nellie never wanted to be an actress but enjoyed planning the set and helping with the lighting.

She also loved writing and wrote for the school newspaper and also wrote for the newspaper in College. She took every class she could including "Voice Over's" which is when you see a cartoon with a duck or something talking and it is someone doing voice overs. She did very well in that class and when the instructor called her with her grades he was in awe at how great she did. Then he asked her where she lived which of course was in the suburbs. He said "Nellie" ..You need to move to Chicago. At that time she was a Nanny which she really enjoyed also. Well with that being said she started planning to make the move to Chicago.

Once she moved to Chicago and still enjoyed being a Nanny she just started working towards her goals. She started out with small newspapers and even a few magazines and helped with comedy shows and also some shows that would help with pet shelters and whatever else came her way. She walked in marathons and did whatever it took.

Well...her persistence is paying off. She now produces her own shows and her production company name is " Youngest Child"...which fits her to a "T" being the only girl and youngest of 9.

The name for her shows is Atomic- Comics Masters of the Universe and they are held at Maynestage Theatre in Chicago

This is where her show was held on Friday night. Has the name of her show in LIGHTS :)

I guess there is something to be said for encouraging a child when they love to write little poems and give them to you so never ignore the things your child Loves to do.

I will be very happy if we are able to save up so we can move farther North and maybe even be able to go to some of Nellie's Shows

Nellie produces her own shows...helps with other shows..She is still a Nanny and enjoys that and she still does writing for a few papers.

Hopefully things will slow down a little bit for her soon and she can help me edit the book I am working on writing.

Nellie helped me reach my goal 20 years ago when she was just 12 years old with her help publishing the first edition of my cook book. My goal now is to be able to publish it again and add a second edition so I can once again help pet shelters and maybe have a small extra income too.

If you look on the right side bar you will see a picture of Nellie and you can click on it to check out her blog

Got em Done

2012-01-18T23:03:00.040-06:00

These are most of the quilts I spent a lot of time on last year. It is really kind of funny because Billy did help me a lot with laying them out and he also clipped every one of the raggy ones. He thought this was an order I had for a friend for after Christmas and he laid out the design and even mentioned how he liked the way I put the back on. I did not have the heart to make him clip his own quilt and this one was traditional. I used a lot of Corduroy and some civil war prints. He was very surprised when he opened it on Christmas morning. Most of my pictures are not good at all. They were all taken with my cell phone and I did ask my kids to take a picture and email to me....well you know how that goes.
This is Billy's quilt laid out on full size bed in guest room before I wrapped it. I used a mattress pad inside this one in the middle. It is real long and he lets it hang down on the floor when he sits in recliner to watch T V and that is where 2 dogs are always laying.This is the quilt that I spent the most time on for my #1 son Dan. I just knew he would like the Cross with the hills and the sky
The blue fabric was clouds and the green was trees and the cross print fabric kind of looked like wood. I did stitch his name in the top right but it doesn't show in the pictures
I bought some fabric with cute Angel like print and each one had a Bible Verse. I appliqued 3 on the black boarder on each side
My friend Dani stitched the pieces of fabric that was for the boarder on the top and bottom. The top says "On A Hill Far Away" and on the bottom is stitched ...Stood an old rugged cross
He Loves his quilt and since he is kind of big I made it big enough for him to use in the sleeper in the semi that he drives over the road
This quilt is for Dan's wife Brenda and yes ..I know I made a mistake with 2 of the same print together OPPS
I did emb the name and from me on each quilt and Brenda's was a print that was like a Hawaiian trip and I made the same print for my GD that is their Oldest DD Amanda
This one is all purple prints and was for Jessica ..my son Dan's 16 yr old DD
She loves purple so she was very happy with her quilt
This picture does not show the print on this quilt that I made for my #3 son Jim..it has a nature outdoor print
He did send me a better picture and he does this every year. He texts me a picture of him with the gifts I sent to him to thank me :)
This quilt was for Jean...Jim's wife and you really can't tell that it has print that has really pretty birds mixed with solid dk blue squares
My GS tried to send me a better picture but it is kind of hard to see the print in his picture too
I forgot to take a picture of GS Nick's quilt so he took this one and sent it. His print has Trees and Black Bears. His was also traditional and not raggy
This is the quilt I made for #6 son Mark and has a lot of fishing and other nature print
Like I said..My cell phone just didn't get good pictures
This is a very similar print for Marks wife Kelly
This is a Dog prints quilt for Marks oldest Daughter Ashley
Ashley called me and was squealing to tell me how much she loved the quilt
My stitching is not very good but it is for sure they can all tell that I did it myself :)
This one is for GD Jennifer and has kitty print and some chenille and some corduroy squares and is extra warm since she gets cold so easy
This is the one I made that tore up my sewing machine because I used a nice warm blanket in the middle and it was too thick for my Viking machine..I did the rest of them with a different machine made by Singer and very durable..thank goodness
This one is mostly tans and brown and has some nature type prints and made for son #4 Troy
I made a real nice one for Troys oldest son and had some print with Dale Earnheart but couldn't find the picture I took and of course he never remembered to send me one
This one was for my youngest GS "Gavin" and he likes bright colors and fish. I did it a little different and made some of the blocks into a 9 patch which of course made it even more work
I think all the raggy quilts will last much longer than if I made them all traditional..I hope so because I do not plan on making them any again
This one was for #7 son "Lonnie" and he loves anything to do with John Deere. He always knows that he will be getting something from me that has to do with John Deer
I did have a square that a friend had emb a tractor on so that is the 1 I used to stitch his name on :)
Lonnie's wife "Angie" Loves anything that has to do with the Beach so of course all the prints in hers have a Beach theme
Just can't see how nice it really looks in this picture
This is another one that was a LOT of work because I got the bright idea to put a thermal blanket inside and even put pieces of batting in the middle. It is for my DD "Nellie" and it does get really cold in Chicago. She Loves colors and prints like this
This is one I made from Homespun and denim and even sewed denim pockets to hold whatever you needed while laying on the couch to watch T V. I sold this one to someone and they gave it to 11 yr old boy and he was very impressed with the pockets
This one has all the same print with Horses and is all flannel on the top. Another one that I sold to someone to give to a young girl that Loves Horses and has 1.
This one is mostly Americana prints with red and blue theme. I sold this one at the craft show I was in last November
This one has Owl prints and I gave it to a friend and told her that Owls are supposed to bring Good Luck. She loves to lay in front of the fireplace and cover up with it to watch T V
All of my quilts have flannel on the back or in the middle. They are light weight but cozy

I AM ON A MISSION..WILL I MAKE IT?

2012-01-13T22:13:00.005-06:00

I am on a Mission and so far things are going O K...I am selling on ebay and doing O K and I am also marking EVERYTHING down in my selling blog to cost and sometimes less. I have a goal set to raise about $700.00 or more by July 20th so Billy and I and all 6 fur-babies can go home. I really didn't think I had 1 more move in me but with Health issues now I just would feel better being close to Family and Friends.My goal is also to down size all of the crafts I have sitting here in bins to lighten the load
I am adding and lowering a lot of things every day in my blog and the pin cushions that I started out selling for $8.00 I have now marked down to $2.00 and once their gone ...their gone. I have also marked down ALL my Market Bags and Veggie bags. I do have some plans to make NEW things this year and also working daily on my second edition for my cook book of recipes from Famous Celebrities. It took me about a year and almost 600 letters to publish the First edition. I am not a patient person and am a little wiser this time (plus all I had in 1992 was my typewriter). I do have the computer now but I know for a fact that you have to write personal letters by snail mail to Celebrities and then hope the Secretary that opens the mail doesn't just pitch it in the trash. With that being said I do have fingers crossed and am saying prayers.
I always donate to a worthy cause when I sell things like this and my goal this time is to donate part of the profit to P A W S in Chicago. They are a wonderful rescue site and even my Pups like them. My DD got the T Shirt at one of their Marathons and gave it to me
Maggie and Calli both like wearing my T shirt more than the dog coats I made them. So...check out my selling blog when you have time and come back often as I will be adding items and marking down more items until everything is gone. So far this month I have managed to save $80.00 and that isn't bad.

Anyone that buys $20.00 or more from my selling blog will have a free gift included in their package. Thank you to all of you that have encouraged me and am following my progress.

I am still working on writing my book also and my Daughter "Nellie" will be checking it out and making a lot of corrections I'm sure as soon as she has time (maybe by the end of the month) and then I will start chapter 4 and 5 and send to her again. The book is taking a little longer than I hoped for but I do need her help and she is a writer so what could be better.

I AM NOT A PATIENT PERSON BUT IT IS GETTING THERE

2012-01-11T23:15:00.009-06:00

I am on a MISSION

Went through the 2 boxes I had full of papers and recipes from when I published my first edition and found a few that I forgot I had. Some of the celebrities sent me autographed photos and some sent real nice letters and of course they will all be in the cook book. I really liked this brochure that I got from Roy and DaleThis is a very good Chicken recipe I have in first edition from George Strait
The one I got from the Cousteau Society is from Captain Cousteau's D I L Jean Michel's wife and is also in the first edition
I love the recipe for the Banana Pudding from Dolly Parton but it makes enough to feed an Army

Mary Kay is now deceased but she did send a nice Letter with her picture (also in first edition)
Bill Cosby sent me an autographed picture with a recipe and I forgot I had it so it will have to go in 2nd edition
And Paul Anka is one of my favorite singers from long ago :)
I will be going to print shop tomorrow to get a few copies made that I need right away and also to find out a price for running copies for all the recipes that I need copies of plus all the new ones.

I am ready to start round 2 and it is a very long process to find the addresses of celebrities and most of them now all have agents and I think it depends on who opens the mail as to weather or not you will get a reply.

When I wrote to Oprah 20 years ago they actually send me a refusal letter saying she didn't have time. The way I look at it they could have opened a cook book and copied something she likes and mailed it for the same postage it cost them to send refusal letter.

I am NOT a patient person but I have no choice but to just keep busy while I wait (kind of like giving birth) you have no choice but to wait. There are some recipes that are definitely my favorites but I am happy to have them all.

Dave Thomas is no longer with us but he did send me a letter with his favorite Wendy's meal and he signed it.

I am not that crazy about the recipe I got from Benny Hill but he did hand write it on the back of his photo that he autographed.

Hard for me to fall asleep at night because my head is spinning with so many things. I just reduced all the prices on my Soap and Pin Cushions in my selling blog and will be marking down all the totes and some other things soon. I thought I would go outside today and take pictures since it was supposed to be nice out but then it rained all day so maybe I can do it tomorrow.

Between lowering the prices of my hand made items to cost or less, plus my cook book...selling on ebay and craigslist ,then having a Garage sale in April or May I think I can raise enough $$ for one more move. I just need to be closer right now to my DD and other family and my friends :)

A SURPRISE GIFT IN THE MAIL AND MAKING STEPS TOWARDS MY GOAL

2012-01-07T18:16:00.007-06:00

Today when Billy went out to get the mail I saw him trying to hide a box under his arm but my friend already told me that she tracked a package she mailed me and it was supposed to be here today. It was small but really heavy and I was really surprised when I opened it to see this press that you use when you cook Bacon. I have wanted one for a long time and never could find one. My friend Karol said she was in the Mall and went to the kitchen store and saw it there. It is really kind of cute too with the pig and says "Bacon Press"Thank you Karol..Just in time for us to cook B L T sandwiches tomorrow
My dining room table is consumed with putting cook books together and I still have 49 from my first edition that I never got put together
Inside page and list of all the Celebrities that I have recipes for ..I will be changing that and adding to it
This is my information about the Author (ME) and I did change it from the first edition
While the stack is waiting I am getting more letters written to put in the mail. It is a lot of work but very rewarding. I will have to start over with printing for the second edition but I have 49 that will be ready as soon as I get some more recipes. I am shooting for the end of Feb (Nellie's

B D) to have enough to finish it. I will be doing a special for the ones I have mostly printed (49) and will sell them for $22.00 and then when I have to buy all new supplies I will have to raise the price. The first place I will be donating to is P A W S no kill Shelter in Chicago. I am hoping to be able to go to their rescue some time when I go to visit Nellie. Hope I can handle seeing all the sad faces. But like I said if I ever come into a ton of money I will have my own rescue.
Because I am a believer in one of my Grandmothers favorite sayings "The Lord Will Provide" I feel that 2012 may be a very good year for me. When ever she ran into problems and power co would shut her electric off and my Dad would ask her "What are you going to do" She would always say "The Lord Will Provide" and it always happened ..... the next day she would get a ck in the mail for a sewing job or from her stocks from Sears...It has always proven true. Since I am doing as many things as I can to save up so we can move back up farther North and be a little closer to Nellie and some of the boys. So when I got a late Christmas card in the mail today from my Aunt and Uncle that are in their late 80's and not in good health and it had a ck for $50.00 in it.... I just knew..That will go into the moving fund .... I still have a long way to go but I have Faith that I will do good with my next cook book and also sell a lot of things around the house and in the Garage. Plus I will be marking down all my hand made items to cost on a lot of them. Will lighten the load and put some cash in my moving fund. Plans are to move on July 20th (and our anniv is the 21st)

I have 65 letters so far to Celebrities and will keep working on them over the week end. I am very anxious to see who will send the first 1. :)

I WILL SUCCEED..NO MATTER WHAT

2012-01-04T14:33:00.003-06:00

I have 3 Chapters written for my new book and started on the 4th but still need to get them to my Daughter Nellie (we will be sharing on Google documents) for her to use her writing skills to re write them for me. I went through my books and found one of my favorites written by Robert Leeds (books about Dogs) and after doing a lot of research I was able to find a phone number.... sooo I thought I would try and call it and I got very Lucky....He answered.

After 33 minutes I was able to gather quite a bit of information and help (I call him another one of my Angels on Earth)

I visited his Pet Motel in Lincolnshire,IL in 1992 and he took me on a tour and then he gave me 2 autographed copies of the books he had written at that time. He has written more since then which I will be buying soon.

That same day I gave him an autographed copy of the cook book my DD and I had published that year. Well...he did remember me even though he is in his late 70's now and having problems with his short term memory.

We discussed my new story and he gave me some good info on where to go and find a publisher. We also discussed my cook book and I told him I was planning on doing a second edition..That is when he got excited and told me that Cook Books (recipes) were the number 1 sellers. He said I should just go ahead and finish the second edition and then I would be a successful publisher.

He told me who to contact and also told me I may have to do it many times to get a publisher to publish it.

Well since I am not a patient person I have decided to do the second edition myself and then try and find an agent. As you can see in the photo on here I do have quite a few ready to finish so I might as well just finish them with a few tweaks here and there.

So today (and probably for the rest of the week) I will be mailing out letters to some more celebrities. I am positive I will obtain enough to get my second edition finished.

I have a new goal and some of you may think I am crazy but the new goal is to move back up to N IL where my family and friends are.

I still have NO friends to speak of here and there are issues with this house....Wet basement and causing mold that even comes up in our kitchen cabinets. I also have a lot of Dust coming in from somewhere and I know it is sucking it from outside and through every crack in the house and furnace vents. I have the BEST LL there ever was but I really need to be closer to friends and family. If ANYTHING ever happened to Billy .. I would not have to help with all the things he does (which is way more than most DH do on a daily basis ) I would not have help from anyone.

I do not wish to live next door to any of my kids but 30 min to an hour would make me feel better than 4+ hours away.

With that being said I have set my goals for moving this July and I will have to be able to raise the funds once again for a U Haul and other expenses and the sales from the cook book will help. I do have tons of ways to promote it.

I will also be going through the MANY bins of my hand made items and will be listing them for cost or less and that will help with more income plus lighten the load.

So now that I have told you all about my goals please leave a comment with any other ideas you may know of and maybe just some encouragement.

Thank you to all of you that have read this very long post :)

A NEW YEAR AND NEW IDEAS..NEED SOME OPINIONS

2011-12-31T22:29:00.004-06:00

I have been told by quite a few people that I should write a book (just cause I had so many kids is what they said) but now I have had a few people tell me I should write a book since they like to read my posts about my fur babies (Thank you especially to Judy for her comments) and I have been thinking about writing a story about my dogs (mainly because of all the things I have dealt with with sweet little Maggie)

My thought was to write a story and Maggie would be telling her story and also about her sisters and the kitties but I would be writing what she wants to say. I would of course put a lot of pictures of all my fur babies in my story and would use the picture on here on the cover and also one of Bianca and Annie..I think it would be easier for me to write Maggie's story (and all about her family) than it would be to try and write one just about my life. Just not sure how much to include and how many family memories to include...what do you think I should do..comments will be welcome with ideas. Thank you in advance to all who leave comments...I do kind of wonder who would buy a book like this..all the publishing and putting it together would be done by me..I will not put money out to publishers and from what I understand they do change things they don't like.

This may be my big goal for 2012 so Happy New year everyone..Hope you reach your goals too if you have some :)

A GOOD CHRISTMAS..A GOOD BOOK AND A GOOD CARD

2011-12-28T22:54:00.009-06:00

Nellie got here on the train on Fri at noon and we went to Wendy's to get something to eat and then we went to $ tree and WM for last minute gifts. She waits until she gets here to buy gifts for us and then she doesn't have to haul them on the train.She left on Monday about 6 P M and it was just luck that my oldest son happended to be coming down on his way to AL to see his Father. We were able to meet up with him right before Nellie got on the train to go home. We were able to visit with him for a few minutes and I was able to see my GD that I havn't seen in about 3 years
I decided to give the pups a special treat this year and found a 3 ft rawhide chew and Maggie didn't want to share so Billy took it in the garage and cut it in half. She chewed so much on it Christmas day that it wore her out and she spent all night sleeping on the couch and didn't go in the bedroom to lay in her own bed (Calli also slept on the couch) All the dogs Love rawhide chews but not as much as Maggie as you can see
It was kind of cute because Nellie put 2 I O U's in mine and Billy's stocking to give Dogg's a bath and of course I used them on Monday before she left. She also gave me a haircut and cleaned a lot of junk out of my computer and she signed me up for Google Chrome. Now I am having a hard time getting used to it...a lot different than IE. I also got a new camera and am having problems with the different settings to take different pictures and then finding them after I upload them so it may take me a while before I can take some really good pictures
I had a nice cover on the couch so the dogs wouldn't get their muddy paws on the couch but that is almost a lost cause
Billy enjoyed opening his gifts from me and Nellie and I enjoyed mine also but I think it was more fun watching Nellie open hers. We got her a lot of little things from $ tree and she just kept asking me "Where did you get this" We got her some slippers and a nice hoodie sweat shirt and a robe ..some boots and some gift cards so she can buy some things she wants. Got her a $25.00 gift card for Target and $20.00 gift card for Pizza Hut and a $10.00 card for Burger King. It was a nice Christmas even if we didn't put up a tree. The house was decorated with other things and Billy had lights up all around the fence out in front
Then I made Nellie a raggy quilt in her favorite colors and 1 for Billy also. Now since the dogs like laying on his where it touches the floor when he sits in his recliner I decided to make each dog a small quilt and 1 for each of the cats but I will be taking my time on these. I made a total of 28 quilts this past year and am not real anxious to start more
I had to go back to the eye Dr today and they have to make me a new pair of glasses since these are not right. It is almost impossible for me to see pictures to upload them on here and they will have my new glasses ready about Jan 4th and I hope they work this time. Nellie bought me a good book for Christmas and I can't even read it. When we were pulling out of the driveway we stopped to get our mail out of mail box and it was kind of funny. Our LL lives kitty corner from us and there was a card from them.It wasn't a belated Christmas card but was a Thank You card..It said "Bill and Nancy, Thank you for all the goodies you sent up here, they sure were good. To start the new year we would like to take $50.00 off the Jan rent ck.Thank you for being good neighbors & Happy New Year" Billy has helped him a few times and when I bake or make fudge I send some up to them. His wife has the onset of dementia so I went up there and took her little pieces of fabric to show her how to make a raggy runner and then when the sewing machine he bought her didn't work I tokk one of mine up there for her to use until hers got fixed. I know it must be hard for her since she used to be an avid sewer and now has a hard time remembering things. It was nice to know how much they appreciated the little things we did.

I may not be posting again until after I get my new glasses and I sure hope they work better than the ones I have now....Hope all of you have a Great New Year

WHY DOES SHE LOVE COWS???

2011-12-19T01:04:00.009-06:00

Hi everyone..My name is Maggie (I am the black one) and my sister Calli is Brown and we just lay on the couch and wish we could go out and run and play or maybe even ride in the car and I will get to see some cows. No one can figure out why I Love to see Cows but I do...almost as much fun as getting loose and taking off for a run in the woods for an hour or so. That makes Mom mad and then Dad has to get his jacket on and go look for me. One night I had a lot of fun and it was real dark out and I was gone for 4 hours and I heard Mom tell Dad that she was worried because if I went in the road I could get run over by a car or truck because they wouldn't be able to see a Black dog when it was so black out. Well we live very rural and there is lots of Farms and Tractors and even some Cows and I Love it when they take me for a ride to see the Cows. They will only take me if I am being good so I guess I better be good for a while I like to put my head between Mom and Dad when we are riding so I can look for cows. There is this thing between the seats and I like to put my front feet on it (of coutse they put the back seat down so all 4 of us fur babies have room) and it is kid of slippery on that thing and I fell a few times when Dad went around a curve so Mom put a king size pillow there for me so I wouldn't slip (and I heard her tell Dad that she didn't want my nails to scratch it) but now if he comes to a curve I just lean over on Mom and she pushes me off and tells me I am a big Galoute and to heavy. I just keep forgetting

Well one time they even pulled over so I could see the Cows better and I told Calli to come and look...I think she likes them to but not as much as I do
Today we saw a farm with a whole bunch of Cows and I was so excited I couldn't stop looking

Then Bianca (that is one of my little white American Eskimo sisters) started barking at the cows and she scared them and they were all running....There must have been 100 of them and even some cute little baby Cows
I wish they would come closer to the fence so I could see them better and I wish Mom and Dad would buy me a Cow (maybe I will ask Santa for my own Cow) and keep it in the yard so I could look out the window and see it all the time. They said they don't have shelter for a Cow and it couldn't just stay out in the cold and rain and snow all the time...plus it would cost more to feed a Cow than it costs to feed me. I sure don't want to give up any of my food or treats so I guess I will just have to be happy taking a ride to see them. I just don't understand why Bianca and Annie and most of the time Calli too just lay down in the back of the car and enjoy a ride. I am much smarter than most people know because when Mom or Dad see a farm coming up with Cows they says "Cows Maggie ...on the Right..or on the Left" and I look out tha back window on the side they said to see them. I am pretty smart...don't ya think?

I guess I will just ask Santa for a HUGE raw hide chew and maybe a rope toy for Christmas insted of my own Cow. I bet Mom and Dad can afford to pay Santa for something like that huh?
Isn't this just the most Beautiful thing you ever saw...a field full of Cows? Well I think it is so you can just call me the Black Lab that Loves Cows (and I do like the Black Cows the most)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM AND DAD

2011-12-17T22:51:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday Mom on Dec 15th you would have been 92 and that isn't that old. You died so young..just 67 and a lot of the Grandkids still miss you even after 25 years Happy Birthday Dad on Dec 18th...you would be 92 and died to young at 67 and on Mothers Day. We all miss you and all your Grandkids wish you both could be here at Christmas.

This is pictures of pictures that I have in glass frames but I think you can still see them pretty good..I always miss my parents the most on Holidays and Special events :)

THE WINNER OF GIVE AWAY IS.....

2011-12-16T18:56:00.003-06:00

First I would like to thank the few people that took the time to enter my give away but since there were not that many I just had my husband draw a name The name he chose was Tammy from Flat Creek Farm...Please send me your mailing info right away Tammy and I will have this cute little check book cover on it's way

I would also like to Thank Dani from Eagles Wings for posting about my give away on her blog..she is always willing to help me with posting when ever I need help. Actually her name is the first one my Husband drew but since I had planned on giving her a thank you gift anyhow I had him pull a second one. I will let you decide what you would like Dani.maybe another veggie bag or table runner or something of your choice. Just email me with what you would like Dani and thanks again for your help :)

A QUICK GIVEAWAY IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS

2011-12-12T23:11:00.005-06:00

I am having a quick giveaway in time for Christmas and you can sign up through the 16th and I will draw a name the 17th and mail it to the winner on the 18th (I will need you to email me your mailing info right away or you can leave it in you comment) so it will get to you in time for Christmas. This will have to be for U S only as there will not be enough time to mail it out of the U S. This is the cutest Chrck book cover and I got it from a lady that was selling her items at a craft ahow in Arthur IL Her name is Pat Oliver This check book cover is hand made by her and it even holds a pen so you won't have to search for a pen when you go to write a ck. From looking at it made from a cute Dog Print Cotton) I am pretty sure it is washable.

Here is a link to her website to check out what other wonderful things she makes to assist those that are handicapped and other things for us that are fortunate enough not to be handicapped

http://handi-helpers.biz/
There are 5 ways for you to have a chance to win this awesome check book cover and they are

1 Leave a comment telling me why you would like to win it

2Post it on your side bar

3 Blog about it in your blog

4 Post about it with a link back to this post on FB

5Visit her web site and let me know which item you like the most.

Leave a seperate comment telling me each thing you did and that I can check and that will give you 5 chances to have your name on the list. I will be using the random counter to pick the winner

For every 10 members sign up I will add another gift of a hand made item made by me...so there you have it..now hurry up and sign up so you don't miss out and good luck...tell as many of your friends as you can to sign up so the extra gift will be added by me..for each 10 people that sign up :)

A HUMAN ANGEL CAME TO MY RESCUE AGAIN!!!

2011-12-09T22:48:00.015-06:00

This is the Prim Candle board Billy made for me

I got booted just as I was about to post this post so some of my pictures were removed but I am putting them back on the top of this post so you can see what I was talking about
How many of you know an Earth Angel? I know quite a few and I had 1 that came to my rescue tonight and fixed my blog..Isn't it awesome now...I bet a lot of you know her and will agree that is what she is..Her name is Linda Parker from Parkers Paradise..She was on the phone with me for 1 1/2 hours working on my blog...There is no way I can thank her enough but of course I will try :)
The other Earth Angel is my Husband "Billy" He was outside for 2 days putting lights up for when our Nellie comes home for Christmas. It started out that it would be just the one bush and by the side door. The next thing I knew he was back in the house digging through the bin of lights and he put lights all around the yard on the fence...didn't like the way it looked and changed it all not once...but twice. Today we went to ship a couple packages and of course I had to buy some more lights so he could go across the front of the house by the windows and around the bird feeder. I will post more pictures when he gets finished (picture is now at the top of this post
He knew I wanted to make some boards to put candles on and insted of buying new boards and knowing how much I prefer the older (prim) stuff he went out in the woods and found a board from a building that fell down. He cut this board for me and sanded it and put the sq head nails in it to hold my Prim Candles...He did a great job (guess he wanted to shut me up)....then I stained it with Old English and glued my Prim Candle graphic on it..He made 3 of them and I will keep one and sell the other 2 and he said $10.00 would be enough. The candles are sold seperate for $3.00 for the pair This picture is also at the top of this post
He agreed to put this Santa Wig and Beard on for me to take a picture and list on ebay. I already have a bid and the auction will end Sunday. They will be sold but he is a keeper :)
Then of course there is 1 more Earth Angel I think about a lot. He is the Vet we had in AL and we drove 60 miles one way to take our Dogs to him. This is Maggie and Calli on their way in to see him and get their 1 yr check up.
Since it was their 1 yr old Birthday I asked him if I could take his picture with Maggie and Calli..It was Maggies turn but Calli always stays real close to her sister
Calli loves to be hugged and enjoyed her turn to get a hug from Dr Jones..If it wasn't 600 miles I would definately be going back there every month for whatever my 4 fur babies needed. He even gave them an expensive bag of treats for their BD and they really enjoyed that. They loved going to see Dr Jones and I am sure Dogs can tell when someone likes them and they aren't just another patient with a name. He always teased me when we went there and said "Maggie Mae" how are you today. He got a kick out of her having a middle name :)

This is the fence we put up for the pups when they first came to live with us and even as little as she was Maggie was always trying to get out and take off running
Of course Maggie thinks she is a guest every time I leave the Guest room door open and she likes to take her nap on that bed :)

Calli prefers to sleep in Mom and Dads bed..she doesn't understand that she is a huge pup and a bed hogIf Mom stays up all night Calli stays up all night and if it is cold she loves to be covered with Mom's robe
But then when I go to bed of course I have to move 2 White dogs off of my side of the bed :) It is wonderful to know so many Earth Angels and I feel honored to be a friend of Lindas..Thank you sooo much Linda for all your help..

A New Year coming and a new Blogger is here

2011-12-09T01:08:00.003-06:00

We have a new Blogger and she would like to invite everyone to visit her blog and follow her if they like it. She is a very talented lady and I hope you go and visit her blog to check out the wonderful little things she makes ..go check her out and tell her Nancy sent you
http://faygotree.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-must-be-what-it-feels-like-to-be.html
Also...don't forget to check out my selling blog as I am going to start pulling things out and list on ebay .
Remember when I posted about my dog hurting her leg and we had to rush her to the vet..well they took xrays (which they never showed to me) and said her leg was just out of place and they massaged it and said she would be O K. Well...Billy was noticing her walking a little funny and started examining her leg and we can feel a know on it which we think means it might have been broken and they ignored it. What in the world is becomming of Vets and also some of the Doctors and dentists we go to. Are their still any out there that really care and not think of it as JUST A JOB they do for an income? O K..Guess I will get off the soap box for now and maybe go and watch T V for a bit before going to bed.
I am looking forward to a New Year and lots of changes

ARE ALL THE SALES WINDING DOWN???

2011-12-04T22:08:00.004-06:00

I still have many items on hand from the craft show

Are all the sales winding down..of course not..all the commericals on T V have a new name for a sale every day..Veterans day is over..Black Friday is over..Cyber sales are over but my sale is just starting. If you need some nice hand made items with very low prices then check out my selling blog (link is on my right side bar) I will be offering 30% off (and that is almost cost and some below cost on a lot of nice items) If you are looking for a small priced gift for the mail lady or Church friend or neighbor this is the place to get them.

The 30% off is for anything in my Pin cushion or tote thread and also the accent pillows. I still have quite a few things that are left over from the craft show and I will be posting them at rock bottom prices every day that I can.

I will also be having a give away next week and you will get 1 extra chance for each item you purchase from me up until the give away ends but you will not have to wait to receive your purchased item.

My Dogs decided to get sick or hurt right before Christmas and you know when you have pets you do need to take care of them so there went $140.00 I wasn't counting on giving to the vet.

If you have any questions just email me and I will answer as soon as I can.

Since I don't have a name for my sale I will just call it my paying the Vet sale.

If there is anything you would like to know if I have some of...please just ask. Thank you to all of you that follow me and read my blog. I am always happy to read comments :)

A CHRISTMAS WISH

2011-12-03T00:31:00.003-06:00

Christmas can be a wonderful time of the year for most of us but then I hear about someone that isn't so lucky. I have a freind that is the CEO of her own health company and there is a young Dad that works part time for her that has 4 Children. He works 3 jobs and also goes to school to get a better job. He and his wife bought what they thought was a nice older home and would have room for his 4 Children. It turned out to be a Money Pit and they are actually only able to use part of the house. I don't want to boar you with a long post but here is how it is...He had a little money saved up for his kids for Christmas but they are about to run out of oil for heat plus he is going to have to buy a beater car since he is loosing his job that has a company car. I don't know how far $535.00 will get him to do that but it means no Christmas for the little ones. My friend and I are trying to get some stuff together for the kids and maybe even something little for Mom and Dad. They have an 11 yr old boy...twin 4 year old girls and a 2 year old boy. I will be going to the dollar tree tomorrow to pick up a few things since that is all we can afford right now and maybe even something for Mom and Dad and my friend is paying me to make some soap and little tote bags. If anyone would like to brighten up Christmas for this family with any kind of small gifts please email me (link in my profile) and I can give you an address to mail any items or money to. Kids don't go by the price of a gift (at least mine never did) they just liked opening lots of stuff :)

I know it always makes me sleep better when I know I have helped someone that is having a hard time near Christmas. Why does it always seem worse at this time of year. Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

Hanging in there

2011-12-01T02:33:00.015-06:00

I told you all that I was going to be selling at a craft sale not far from here on Nov 12th...well we went and set everything up the night before and I did not lift one thing..Then we had to be there about 7:30 A M and it was kind of slow at first since they were having a pancake breakfast but then things picked up.
I was sitting on a hard chair and kept getting up and walking around and I could feel it coming. The sale was supposed to last until 12:30 but the pain kicked in and I had to pack up at 11:30 and by the time I got home all I could do was sit in the recliner or go to bed and it has lasted ever since. It is only in my neck now and I am living on pain pills and just looking around at all the things I want to do and can't. Well tonight the pain pills kicked in at 9:30 P M so I decided to stay up and try to get the quilt finished for my oldest son. I did succeed and now Billy will clip it and then it goes in the washer and dryer. I will post a picture when it is done. In the mean time poor Billy had to do everything and he even got the kitchen painted in time for my DD Nellie and her friend to come for a short visit. The kitchen was a disgusting yucky yellow that went out of style in the 60's and I chose Barn Red for the new color and I love it. I actually bought Barn paint and it covered pretty easy

We still might do a back splash with tile but haven't had a chance to go and look for any yet. I have also been picking up things at Garage sales and thrift stores to go with my decor of Chickens and Roosters
This is the wall over the washer and dryer and I like the way it looks now
This is the wall on the left side of my back door and the little white cabinet also opens up and has hooks to hang keys and the picture of the Chicken is painted on a slate tile
This is just a small wall on the right side of the door that goes into the dining room. I got the cute little wood thing with a towel rod on the bottom at the thrift store for $1.00 and it has a little girl that is hand painted and she is collecting eggs from the nest and putting them in a basket. The towel has a stitched piece of muslin sewed on to homespun that has been primmed .... Linda stitched for me and I love it...There is a story about the coffee can that I will tell in another post in the future
This is just a corner that is on the right side of the bathroom wall and the left side of doorway going into the dining room with some more of my finds at thrift store and Garage sales

This is the corner wall on right side of back door and just to the left of washing machine. I have my old spice containers on it with a cute little mouse I made a few years ago. It has one of my favorite dish towells hanging on a rod on the bottom. Afriend of mine (Gayle) stitched this for me with a clothes line and clothes hanging on it. Great job of appliquing I would say. What a perfect place to hang it near the washer and dryer :)
My Daughter Nellie and her friend Erica drove down from Chicago on Fri the 18th until Sunday the 20th and my LL Fred took us out in the woods behind his house to show us the neat little Cabin that his nephew and friends built. They use it a lot and sleep in it when they are Deer hunting
There is a stocked pond out in the front of the cabin and the girls took a walk out there to check it out
They weren't to impressed with the bathroom facilities but Fred said they were going to be adding a bathroom soon...the kind that is like when you are camping...no running water in this cabin This is their source of heat stacked on the back porch
This is the wood burner that is used for heat and it is very warm and cozy and comfortable inside. They have bottled big jugs of water but also have a gas tank outside with bottled gas to use the gas stove and they have gas lights. They have get togethers in the cabin year round and have some pretty nice Breakfasts
Billy took the girls for a ride to see the covered bridge near here and then they took a walk in the woods behind our house and they actually got lost but they did finally find their way back. He also took them for a ride to see the Damm in Shelbyville. They were ready to just hang out on the couch and watch a little T V when they got back. Was a good get away from Chicago to Mode with population of 50. We had lots of goodies cooked before they got here and of course some of their favorite meals...Nellie especially likes breakfast the way her Dad makes it for her. Bacon and eggs with grits and Texas Toast. I was not able to do much at all but it all worked out O K and Nellie will come home again for a few days over Christmas. Billy was able to also get the Guest room painted and different things hung up in there. I decided to move all my prim things out of the sewing room and into the guest room. Now I call it a Museum :)

Maggie got up on the couch when Nellie left and watched out the window for almost 2 hours waiting for them to come back...The 4 dogs all loved having company and the extra attention.

It is now 3:30 A M and about time to go to bed. I had to wait this late because the pain was almost gone tonight...hopefully it will stay gone so I can get some more done tomorrow and maybe post some new pictures in my selling blog of things I will be offering 40% off on so check back to see some items you might be able to use for some of your Christmas gifts :)

TO MUCH PAIN....NO MORE CRAFT SHOWS

2011-11-17T23:20:00.002-06:00

I have been trying to come on computer and post for 5 days and am in to much pain to sit here that long. I am in a LOT of PAIN with my back (fibro kicked in) and it is my whole back and neck...I feel like some one hit me in the back with a concrete block. Had to pack up an hour early at the show and have spent every day since in my recliner. I can't even sleep and my Daughter is coming tomorrow and I still have things to do so might as well hobble around in pain and get some done. I will post pics from craft sale and other news as soon as the pain lets up a little. Thatnks for visiting my blog..I will be back soon.

A NEW BLOGGER AND THINGS I HAVE LEARNED FROM MAGGIE

2011-11-04T00:15:00.012-05:00

I am sure a lot of you that have been keeping up with my blog have heard about Maggie more than once. Well she has quit chewing things since we moved back to IL..It was like she thinks she got her message out about wanting to move up North.
She chewed my shoes the night before we moved and I had to go to WM and find a pair of Shoes so I could drive over 650 miles. The very day we got to this house she quit chewing...Just quit...but she still lets me know what she thinks and wants in other ways, She is actually faking how good she is going to be now that we have a fence up and she showed us that she could still jump the fence if she felt like taking a run out in the woods and she lets it be known that you can call her all you want and she will ignore all the offers of a treat or a cookie and will come back when she gets good and ready

She also considers herself a guest and goes in the guest room to take a nap when she feels the urge
And she will also rough house and play with Calli when ever she wants and where ever she wants

She will be the Co-pilot when we go in the car and have her head between us in the front seat so she can watch for a farm that has Cows...Maggie Loves Cows and she can recoganize a farm coming up and will turn around and look out the side window so she can see them. She even knows which side of the back seat to look out. I have never heard of a dog that loves to look at cows...but that is Maggies favorite thing to do when she gets to go in the car and she loves to ride in the car no matter what the weather is. The other 3 girls just lay down and enjoy the ride...but not Maggie..Its all about Cows. Has anyone ever heard of a dog that likes to do that?

She also thinks I should share my recliner and thinks if she turns her head to the side that I can't see her. She does get down when I tell her to but does it very slowly...never in a hurry

This pose is supposed to make me feel guilty and let her out in the yard and trysting her not to jump the fence..That doesn't work any more and she is now back to a chain again and can't play with Calli when on a chain
There is a hole in the kitchen door for the cats to go out and use the litter box and she thinks if she sticks her head through it that maybe she will get to go out and go in the car.

Maggie will still eat anything you leave out that she can reach. She ate 2 chocolate cupcakes yesterday and then for dessert she ate a carton of cooked chicken livers that are supposed to be to mix Annies meds in. But of course if anything is left in her reach she thinks it is for her. I wonder how many of you can name some of the things that Maggie has devoured.

You would think after 2 years Billy would remember not to leave food on the counter. I told him to put food in the microwave or the oven if he has to set it down for a few minutes. She hasn't figured out how to open either one of them....YET

I would like to share a new blogger with you and I just Love her blog..Her link is on the side bar on the left and is "I Am Art" Please go and check her out and tell her I sent you. You just have to see the Tea Wallet she made..I just Love it and hope she has some made to sell soon. I think they would make great Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers,

My daughter Nellie finally put a new post in her blog (link over on the right side bar) and I am so happy and proud of her. Not only is she a Nanny but she also writes for a newspaper in Chicago and is now producing Comedy shows for 2 Well known Comedy Theatres. If I was closer I would be attending her shows but we are just a little to far but I get to hear about her achievements every day. She just signed a contract tonight and she even has a name..The Youngest Child Productions" It has always been her goal to do exactly what she is doing now and let me say it again..I am very proud of her.
Be sure and check out my selling blog for my specials in honor of all 4 dogs needing a trip to the vet :) I have sold a few things this past week and even had a customer from Japan buy some soap. I will be in another craft show on the 12th and will be taking a lot of the things there that I have in my selling blog and when there gone...there gone.

Thank you for reading my blog and I would love to have you leave a comment and let me know you stopped by :)

I LOVE THRIFT STORES...SOME GREAT FINDS

2011-10-25T23:15:00.014-05:00

I Love shopping at the Senior Center run Thrift Store in the town about 10 miles from us and can never go in there without buying something We went there on Monday and I just had to have this Frame. It is a 3 D type deep one and had this little real wood table in it with a basket of Apples and the little blue ck cloth and another Apple sitting next to the Basket

And it opened up and there is a key rack inside and it had an old skeleton key in it which I took out to use on another craft project. It looked so cool with white paint that was chipped off in a few places. Very Prim. I deceded that this is a keeper and as soon as we get the kitchen painted it will be displayed in my kitchen...and to top it off I got this for just $2.00
And of course I lucked out and found some more wood frames ...they are soooo reasonable there and I never pay over 50 cents for the little ones and never over $1.00 for the bigger ones
Then I found some more candles that I am going to use to melt to make my prim candles and Linda gave me some great ideas on another way to do them so as soon as I get them made I will post pictures. I have a really great idea for the basket and will post a picture if it turns out like I want it to :)
I have tons of ideas for the wooden spoons and the frame at the top with the Grapes will get the frame primmed and then will be a Christmas gift for my DIL that has her kitchen and dining room decorated in Grapes
Today we went to check out a resale shop that I was thinking about putting a few of my items in but then found out that the first 2 weeks they are in the shop she keeps 50% and the rest of the time (you can only leave things there for 6 weeks) she will keep 75% and if you don't pick them up in 6 weeks she will keep them..not for me. But when I was leaving I saw this cute Chicken that was marked down from $4.00 to $1.00 and I couldn't pass that up. It will also go in my kitchen as soon as we get it painted. I will have Chickens and Roosters for my Kitchen theme and have a few things with Apples that I will try and mix in. I took this picture outside of the shop on the hood of my car LOL
Then we went to Good Will today and the one by us is kind of high priced but today was half price for items with a red tag. Of course everything I bought had a red tag except the blue Cheese crock. I will be using these items in my gatherings (yes I will start on them tomorrow Tonya :)

I am trying to figure out how to use them..what should I display in them. The ones in the back are a real dark green pottery type small bowls and I am not sure how to prin the rusty ladel. It has a wood handle and I am not sure if I should paint it..I need some suggestions
Then I got this cute wood box (I think it was a cheese box) and I was thinking I could paint it but maybe I should just use it somehow like it is. There is only one problem ..On the right side under the tree it has the name Patty written I think with a marker. Not sure what to do to cover it so it doesn't show. It is also lined inside and I am trying to think of how to display this. I will glue some felt to the bottom so you can't see where it says $1.75 in marker. I got this for 96 cents (red sticker)
This is another wood box and was also 96 cents..The heart that is painted on the front is also painted on the back. I will glue some felt to the bottom of this one also but need some ideas on how to display it.
Every time we buy groceries (after we go to the thrift store) we buy one of the 10# bags of Chicken. Billy boils it and then picks it all off the bone and tears into small pieces. It is one of the treats all the fur babies Love as you can see. Every once in a while he drops a few pieces. The little Princess (Bianca) in front of the stove insists that it is handed to her..the rest just open their mouth and grab it if they can.

I also found some apples at WM on sale (for Halloween) and they were $1.00 a bag. I bought 2 bags and will be slicing them tomorrow to put in dehydrator. I am looking for suggestions on how to use them in some of my gatherings maybe in a dish or bowl. Anyone have any suggestions on how to use them. Should I string some together..should I put something between the slices if I string them?

Hopefully all of you will leave comments and help me with ideas for my finds. I only spent $19.00 on Monday and $12.00 today so now I have to get busy and nake up some gatherings to sell so all my fur babies can make a trip to the vet.

SALE IS OVER AND PUPS TOOK OFF A G A I N

2011-10-23T20:28:00.011-05:00

I can understand how much they would like to go out and play and I feel sorry for them when they are just looking out the window. I am sure they are thinking how much fun it would be to be out there ...BUT...if they would just stay inside the fence and run around and play it would be O K..I don't expect them to chase everything that is out in the yard or the fields or in the woods. 2 nights ago Maggie jumped the fence and after about an hour Billy found her where the corn was before they cut it down...She had a big old Possum cornered and was running around in circles around it. She is lucky it didn't come after her.....Then last night we got home about 5 and Billy took them out and went out with them since they have always stayed in the yard if someone is out there. Well last night they jumped the fence and they didn't come back until 10:30 P M. And of course I am thinking they are dead..called them..Billy drove up and down the road and had the car so headlights were facing out in the woods. Billy looked out the window at 10:30 and there they were. He let them in and I was laying on the bed and Calli came in and jumped up by me and was happy to see me. Like I was the one that was gone for 4 1/2 hours. I told her to go somewhere else cause I was mad at her...and she did. I have a bed made on the floor in our room for both of them (and Bianca and Annie sleep up on the bed)...they both went in the T V room and slept on the couch and recliner. I think they knew I was angry with them. Calli has a cut on her 1 paw so now I will have to call the vet even sooner. Will give all 4 of them a bath tomorrow and make apt to go to Vet this week...and now..for the craft sale results.... This couple's table was close to me ... they make rugs on a loom. They are the most awesome ones I have seen in about 23 years. They also make place mats and she said a lot of people like to use them if they have a van to put on the hump between the seats. They charge $6.00 a ft and if anyone is interested in seeing more of their rugs let me know...I got their card. I bought a really cute small pink one for a gift.

Most of them are made from the lighter blue denim but they did have some other ones that were really nice. One thing I liked about them is "They are hand made in the U S A by Seniors" and they will wear like iron.
This is a close up of one of their denim ones

I did sell one of my biggeer quilts that was Americana prints and this is the new happy owner. Her Mother bought it for her and she said her whole house is decorated in Americana prints. She was in charge of the bake sale and they had a lot of really yummy looking baked items.
I had a HUGE space since I rented a double and had it like a big "U" shape and some things up in front right in the middle
This is the rack I had with my quilts and tote bags and the table full of pillows was kind of behind it
Then to the right of the table of pillows I had another table and had a lot of the tucks and framed stitchings that Linda did for me. I don't know what I would have done without her..The stitched things she did for me sold pretty good (and now of course I will be needing more LOL).

I had an old door off of a video cabinet that I got at a resale shop...Billy painted it black and I made it look prim. I was going to try and sell it but forgot to mark it and used it to display some of the tucks I got from Linda....I have now decided to keep it since it worked so good for displaying them
I had one table with all the Christmas things and did not sell a single one...Maybe next time and there is another sale on Nov 12th I am going to call about tomorrow...it is just 4 hours show too. I will let you all know if I get in but I will not take as much stuff to the next time
This is where my 3 tables ended going along the wall and then had one coming out towards the front. It took a little over 2 hours to set it up and 1 hour to pack it all back up
This is 2 card tables I had up in front but you could walk around them to see the ones in the back. I made 12 jars of Apple Butter and sold 1...bummer
There is another show on the 12th..I might just get brave and try again.
I will be having another one of my big mark down sales to help with vet bill just like I did when Maggie had Heart Worm. I have decided that it costs as much to raise dog's as it does to raise kids...At least you know that when you punish your kids it usually works and kids can talk. How do you diciplin dogs when they just Love attention no matter how they get it. I will also be having another give away soon to thank my blogger friends for reading my blog and especially the ones that leave comments.

ALMOST READY

2011-10-17T22:07:00.010-05:00

It has been a very busy week and I just have a few more things to make if I an come up with some more energy. I love the scented hot pads and I Love making them and I found this fabric with Gingerbread Men and real recipes. I had to cut them in different sizes so each one would have a recipe..they are in the bin and ready to go I also went outside one day when the weather was nice and decided to make my graters look rusty. I spray them with black paint and then pour cinnamon on the wet paint. I like the way they look and will try and display them upside down and hang a prim towel on the handle and maybe put some pip berries in the part facing up...not sure how to decorate the flat one or the sifters...anyone have any ideas?

I also enjoy making table runners so made a few with Christmas print. This one just has a basic print with Holly leaves and hanging Ornaments and measures about 15 X 30" it is 3 layers and has a nice Christmas print on the bottom side too
I cut bigger squares for this one and it has some cute Reindeer prints and measures about 23 x 40 and also has a cute print on the bottom
I think this one is my favorite..has Cute Bears wearing a Christmas Hat and some Rocking Horses and some Mittens that say Warm Hands..Warm Heart. Also has a cute print on the back and measures about 37 x 19. I take special orders from time to time and make the runners to fit a special table.
I primmed some fabric and Linda came through to help me again with some of her stitched labels and I made 11 prim looking Dish Towel's...Maybe I will display a few on the rusty looking graters :) One of them even have a printed picture of Abe Lincoln I printed on fabric on it with one of Lindas labels under it
Then I sat and sewed a bunch more pillows and I always line my pillows on the inside with thin quilt batting. I bought some really neat fabric with the Decloration of Independence and the signatures and couldn't decide what to do with it so...it also became a pillow. I have a burgandy homespun fabric on the back. My DH was born and raised in AL so of course I had some prints of Robert E Lee on fabric so I made a pillow with it also and it has one of Lindas labels under it that says God Bless America...maybe there will be someone from the South come to the sale that will just Love it ...Since I live in Tractor country I decided to make a few John Deer pillows and even made some little blue flannel ones for a baby that lives on a farm. I have made tons of different John Deer items for my #7 son who has always loved John Deer tractors. He just bought a huge 4 B R double wide and 1 room is all John Deer. He now lives in AL so it fits his style there too.

I found a little bag with a shiny penny in a shop not long ago and Loved the verse so I even made up about 20 of them to sell and will be selling them for 25cents @ so they will make nice little gifts for a pkg tie on also
It did take me a while to get 12 pints of my Apple Butter made up and I have added some really cute labels that I bought the graphic for and printed myself. Billy helped me by holding the fabric I added to the top while I tied it on with twine. I love the way they look and hope I sell them all. I have an extra jar and I think I will bring it with and maybe some little Oyster crackers and a spoon to put a taste of the Apple Butter on the crackers so people can try some before they buy a jar.
I will take some pictures of all of my goodies on Friday night when I go to set up and then you will be able to see the tons of items that I never got to take pictures of. Here is crossing my fingers for a good turn out and the one thing that I like about this sale is it starts at 10 A M and goes until 3. They have to buy it when they see it or forget it..no coming back to look again later or the next day. I will try and post again on Sunday and let everyone know how it went...good or bad :)

SMALL TOWN AWESOME MURALS

2011-10-14T01:43:00.010-05:00

There is a smaller town near us that has these awesome Murals painted beside some buildings and they are usually on a corner so you can see them when you drive through town. I am always amazed when someone has this kind of talent and are willing to share it and make something that even tourists will remember. I finally had Billy take me through town and stopped to take a picture of every one of them. This is a small town with population of about 1,500 and has a lot of really neat little shops and a lot of restaurants and even a really nice quilt shop. This one was on the corner of the newspaper office. It looks like a real paper boy doesn't it? This one is near a building that is a place I think that does carpet cleaning and other types of home improvement

This one was on the front of the movie theatre...How many small towns still have a Movie theatre? They are reasonable and have pretty good movies every week
This one was near a salon and I wonder if she likes how they did her hair?
I am not quite sure where this one was but looks to me like 2 young girls playing dress up. Do you remember playing dress up?
I think this just says something about the town and how even young Children want to keep it clean.
This is another one that is on the front of the building that is a Movie theatre. Kind of makes you want to go in with him to see the movie playing this week :)

This one is near a gym and work out type of business
This one shows another way for even the younger generation to have fun on a windy day like we have been having here in Central IL for a few weeks
Not as much to do in the town we live in..It is almost like a ghost town except for a Church and impliment business. The population in our town is "50" ...Yep thats right just 50 but never to far to find almost anything you might want to do. When you take a ride to one of the other towns near here you will see a lot of Corn Fields and Soy Bean fields and they are starting to harvest the field corn and the beans and to me that means the warm weather is over and winter is on the way. The winters are never quite as bad here in the Central part of the state like they are up North. To me Winter means I will have a lot more time to do some crafting...How about you? What are your plans to do this winter?

SCARECROWDAZE FESTIVAL ...AND MORE ITEMS FINISHED

2011-10-10T00:40:00.014-05:00

I actually got something acomplished this week end. I love the way the scented hot pads turned out. Great for fall and maybe TG Dinner..The smaller one even has some pumpkins and all kinds of fresh veggies printed on it....the top one on the left has Fall leaves..pumpkins..apple..acorns..corn and more..The bottom one is colorful fall leaves. I mixed up my own spices and even has pumpkin pie spice inside. When you sit a warm bowl of Potatoes or veggies on it on the dinner table you have a nice aroma. I made these candle mats from flannel and they are also padded and say "Freedom Of Worship" at the top and right under that it says "Each According To The Dictates Of His Own Conscience" The bottom left hand corner says Norman Rockwell. They can also be used to sit on a shelf like a tuck

I had a few problems when I decided to make up another batch of prim candles. After I finished rolling them in the coffee grounds and spices I dipped them to seal it only to find out the wax I had was not clear..I emailed Tonya and she was able to help me out and the one on the left is my finished one after getting advice from her (Thank You Tonya)
Then I tie a ripped piece of Homespun around and put a piece of sweet annie under the homespun...look much better finished even if this is not a good picture (Don't you all hope I get a new camera for Christmas ?) :)
They also had the Scarecrow Daze festival this week end near us. This is one of the dogs that was dressed in a costume for one of the contests in the dog show.
He is a HUGE Bloodhound dressed up like a Turtle..I don't think he liked it much and would just rather be a DOG
They had the usual food trailers everywhere and I couldn't believe it when I saw the $5.00 price for just a small funnell cake.
They also had an obedience and best tricks etc dog show and it was pretty interesting to see dogs that behave. My big Lab pups would only win the dog that jumps and barks the most. They don't get to see people very often except us so they would go crazy seeing that many people and would not like seeing other dogs getting attention :)
They also had a really cool band and I Loved their music..all country and fast beat. I especially like the way the lead guitar wore shorts..Very relaxed and it was pretty warm Sat..in the upper 80's
There was an older gentleman just having the best time dancing to the music and it was so cute because when he saw me taking his picture he waved and smiled. It was nice to see someone so happy and pleased with my kind of music...My guess would be he had to be about 80 years old but was dancing like he was 30
All in all it was a great week end with great weather..Now it is time to get busy again and finish some more items I have half finished and things I have cut out.

Hope everyone has a great week :)

FINALLY GETTING SOMETHING FINISHED

2011-10-04T23:49:00.011-05:00

It has been a very hectic and crazy week but I am finally able to get back to my blog and hoping I don't get booted off before I finish this post. I am working hard to get more things made for craft show on the 22nd and crossing my fingers that it is a good one. This is some squares I have cut and ready to meke some Christmas runners
I decided to do some deep cleaning and change a few things around like moving my sewing back in my sewing room and also moved my computer back in here before I get back to sewing. Every time I decide to post a new post in here I am getting booted off. I guess that's how it is when you like near a forest and have to use an air card for internet. They had to send me a new one and it is the third one and it is NO better. Then to top it off I also had to get a new cell phone and was also without a sewing machine for 10 days. Just a few more days of rearranging and I can get back to sewing again I am not even going to tell you what this will be but I guess you can see that it is some old socks that were kind of stretched out and I put them through primming and will show you what they look like when they are finished :)

This is some fabric I also put through the primming process and there is only one person that knows what they are for..will show pictures when they are finished
Of course I am sure most of you know who stitched these labels for me and she does a great job..Thank you for your help Linda...they turned out great

This is also something I received in the mail that was a surprize and I made it into a door hanger and have hand quilted it since I took this picture

And another surprize I got in the mail and still have to quilt around some of it but I think I might cheat and use my sewing machine to quilt part of this one

I did get a few things finished and these are a few candle mats I finally finished

Another good job stitched by Linda and I think it looks good in this frame..what do you think?

This is one of my favorites and it is in a Vintage frame. I will try to show more pictures as I get more items finished. I do have 5 bins full and ready to go to craft show but still have a few more things to get finished up. Just hoping for good weather on the 22nd.

I hope this post makes sense since it is going on 1 A M and I am a little tired ...maybe I will do better and have a post that is more interesting next time :)

IAM ON A CRAFTING ROLL AND SOMETHING CUTE AND FUNNY

2011-09-27T00:08:00.015-05:00

I have been very busy lately (when pain pills work for my back) making a ton of things for the craft show on Oct 22nd. This is one of the wisk brooms I made this cover for (I did have a lot of help from my sweet friend Linda...she has been doing some stitched labels for me and we are swapping in exchange for her help. I don't know what I would do without her help to have these awesome stitcheries she is doing for me....This wisk broom is going on the shelf with some of my other prim items. I got this wisk broom at a thrift store and I think it is the coolest one I have ever seen This is 2 more wisk brooms that she made the covers for that I will be taking to the craft show

This is a bad picture of this quilt (I have to use my cell to take pictures until Santa see's my wish list for a new camera for Christmas..Some of the squares look grey but they are homespun and I have added pockets to some of the denim squares to hold school supplies or sewing supplies or what ever someone wants to use them for. Nice way to stay warm this winter while doing home work or sewingI don't know why this picture is so small but this is a lap quilt with horses and also has silhouettes of cowboys..Horse print is flannel and also has flannel on the back. Nice lap quilt for any horse loveClose up of quilt with horses
This is an Americana quilt that is all Americana prints and also has flannel on the back. I have it laid out across my queen size bed for this picture so I guess it would make a nice quilt for a full or twin size bed or maybe even to lay on the couch and watch T V
Close up of Americana quilt
This is one of my favorites and has Owl print mixed with Calico prints..It has flannel in the middle and is a nice size for your lap or on the couch
This is the Owl quilt hanging on clothes line..pictures are usually a little better when I can take them outside
This is an epattern and I just couldn't wait to get it made. I just loved this fabric and just barely had enough and had to have a seam in the front insted of cutting on a fold but I still just love the way it turned out and I even made a prim hanger from twig and rusty wire
This is a cute little child size broom I bought and DH drilled a hole in the handle for me to put my rusty wire through to hang it and I sent the fabric to Linda and she did the stitching for me...She does such a good job and I just love all of her stitched things

This is 16 ditty bags I finished up tonight and I have printed muslin with a variety of sayings and pictures...I hope they sell too
As some of you know I have a Dear Daughter (Nellie) that lives in Chicago and Loves it there. She is a writer and writes for newspspers and does write up's on comedians that perform in hicago. She is also a manager for Comedy clubs and organizes comedy shows in different places in Chicago and she does those 2 jobs in her spare time...She is also a full time Nanny and one of the best there is.

She just sent me the link below for a blog she just started and it did bring a smile to my face. Nellie is the youngest of 9 and she has 8 older brothers and if you click on the link below you can read all about being the only girl and the youngest of 9 :)

I will try and get some of my quilts listed in my selling blog tomorrow when it isn't 1 A M. I do have one listed now on ebay but if anyone is interested in buying it they can bid on ebay or I can remove it

Click on the link here
http://nelliehuggins.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/how-to-succeed-life-lessons-i-learned-by-being-born-last/#comment-11

Great Wed and glad Tuesday is over

2011-09-21T22:43:00.008-05:00

Today was a good day and I got to go to Thrift store and pick up the Sewing Machine the Lady was holding for me...It is a nice old HEAVY one ..all metal..not plastic. I think I need to read the booklet that came with it to figure out what all it does. It is a Singer Futura II Model Q20 and says Two way Sewing surface. I got it for $20.00 and wanted it for back up but might like it enough to use often once I figure out what all it does. It had all these accessories and even had the dime they used for screwdriver :) I have never seen Bobbins like this one has but there is 14 bobbins with it so I think I will have enough. I will try reading the booklet as soon as I have time to take another break from making quilts

Today was also the day Billy decided he did look pretty disgusting with the long Hair and Beard and decided to shave and asked me to give him a haircut

He does kind of resemble Good old St Nick but the hair was wild looking especially when it was windy.

He does look better now and looks about 20 years younger. He is sitting in the recliner holding Annie while she is having an epilepsey seizure. He is the only one she wants to hold her when this happens.
Sorry I have been M I A but have been having a lot of back pain and probably overdoing it some with sewing and getting things made for craft show next month.

Yester was a bad day and I am glad it is over. My talking watch quit..The attachment that hooks on the shower I use to give the dogs a bath broke and had to do it the hard way for Maggie with dipping the cup in water. I thought maybe Billy could fix it but he can't so will have to give Bianca and Annie a bath the hard way also.

I got my new cell phone yesterday and had tons of trouble getting it to activate and still having problems setting it up..Then I tried to install the new air card for my computer and it wouldn't work...guy from tech support said he would call me back after his break to help me and that didn't happen either.

I finally called back and the lady I talked to "Nancy" helped me get it going in 10 minutes...could it be because she was a woman and had the same name...and what is really funny is she had the same middle name as me...that does not happen very often.

I have been busy sewing quilts and trying to put some gatherings together with all my finds since last Nov and will show pictures in my next post.

Hope you all have a great week and I will try and catch up on reading all your posts and leave comments where I can. It would make my day if I hear from all of you with comments :)

GIVE AWAY FOR SEPTEMBER

2011-09-18T00:19:00.003-05:00

I am having a give away that will go until Oct 1st. Maybe some of you remember my post about when I went to the huge craft show in Arthur,IL. I met a crafter there that is doing something that I thought was wonderful and had a little chat with her.
Her name is Pat and I decided it would be great to share some of the wonderful things she makes. She gave me a small giftie to give away in my blog.
You must leave a comment in this post about 3 things that you like the most on her website for 1 entry. If you blog and put a link on your side bar then leave another comment for another chance telling me you have done that.
I will also be adding a little something to the pot but am not telling what it is yet, I can not post a picture of her give away right now because I put it somewhere that I knew would be a safe place and easy to find and guess what...I have been doing so much sewing for a craft show in Oct that I can not find the item she gave me....so that will have to be a secret also for a while.
I really like the item she gave me and wish I could enter so I could win it :)
Here is a link to her website http://www.handi-helpers.biz/home Be sure and take a peek at all the wonderful things she has..they are very well made too
The name of the winner will be chosen using the random numbers generator on Oct 1st.

I HAVE A BET GOING AND HAD COMPANY

2011-09-12T23:16:00.025-05:00

These are the most Loveable Labs I have ever seen or had the privledge to give a Forever Home.They now need my help and are depending on me and their Human Dad to give it to them. As most of you know ...we have been working on getting a fence put up for them so they no longer have to spend all their out door time on a Chain. We thought we had pretty much taken care of that and when we took the fence down from around our garden it was put up for them. We knew it wasn't the best but was all we could do for now. My Goal is to get the fence fixed so they can no longer get out like they did tonight. It is very scarey when a Black Dog jumps the fence and takes off after dark and you don't know where she went and of course...she took her Brown sister with. They both jumped the fence over in the corner where we have a make shift gate. They had me very worried since cars go by here pretty fast and it is very hard to see a Black Lab and her Brown sister if they run in front of you.
We also have the 2 American Eskimos but they are much better about staying in the yard. My vet told me that Labs will always take off if they get a chance since it is their nature to explor.
Here is what my goal is now. I have a Bet with a few people that I can make enough money selling my crafts and collectibles to be able to fix the fence and add on to make it higher so they can't get out. I am having a special in my selling blog right now and am offering either 10% off or ...buy 3 items and get the 4th item for 1/2 price of equal or less of the lowest item you purchase. I will run this special through the end of Sept since I will be adding items to my blog every day that I can
This is a pillow I made about a month ago for a customer that is also a Dog Lover and especially Loves her Dog. The picture was printed on muslin on my printer and the words were put on the picture by a friend that added them to the picture the customer emailed me before I printed it. I can do this again with a picture and wording of your choice. I made this into a pillow for her to give her husband for their anniversary

I will also be listing this child size tea set in my blog that I made for my Daughter many years ago. It has sweet little Cherubs on the little cups and the saucers that I fired on when I had my kiln. Would make a nice gift for that little someone special for her BD or Christmas

I have been doing some swapping with Linda from Parkers Paradise and she is making some awesome labels for me to make some awesome prim items (and she is also guiding me as to what looks good with what). I can't wait to get some more finished up and list them even though it will be hard to part with some of them :)
I had a VERY OLD Vintage Quilt that I have cut up and made into little candle mats of different sizes and will also be listing them real soon
I just couldn't wait to make this cute little prim dress when I got the pattern and will be making more of these. It even has a prim hanger made from a stick with rusty wire hanger

I just finished this pillow today and is ready to be shipped to the customer that is a Train Lover. It measures about 45 X 36 and took a lot of stuffing and I have also quilted around the trains and buildings. This is my first sale towards fixing the fence :)
Seeing my Pups like this just looking out the window and wanting to go out and run and play is so sad..I promised them tonight that I would fix the fence...even though I was very upset with them for taking off and running through the corn field. Good thing we had a full moon tonight so they could find their way home...and yes I did give them a cookie for coming when we called when they got close to the house. I just hope they don't think they were given a treat for taking off
This was their first day to go out and play when we just got the fence up and they sure did have a good time playing.

Even Annie was getting in on the fun and excitement

They couldn't make up their minds if they wanted to just relax or explore

O K..Getting tired of running for a while so time to just chill out and relax in the breeze

It was also a very fun week end when my youngest son drove down and spent 2 1/2 days..He sure is a good cook and made some red potatoes with carmelized onions..so yummy
Of course I made some Banana bread before he came and even made some extra for him to take back home

I think some of you might remember about my great find at Goodwill store when I went up North for my Granddaughters BD and fun trip with another son and his wife to thrift stores when up there.

I got this great apple corer and peeler and decided that Scott and I could make up some Apple Butter that is sooo good. I got the recipe from Mommies Kitchen blog and link is on my left side bar to her blog

Since Scott already has one of these things I let him show me how to use it LOL

He said he used his on Pears and worked good on them too. I bet it would work good on a lot of different veggies. It is from Pampered Chef

I think it is sooo cool the way the Apple came out in a spiral. Might work to make dried spirals to make crafts..has anyone ever tried that
This Apple Butter recipe is so simple..just put all the ing in your crock pot and let it cook overnight on low setting and then turn on high in the morning for a few hours.

When you can stand a wooden spoon up in the middle it is done...then can it in hot water bath

I know this picture is kind of dark but you get the idea. I usually decorate the jars and put fabric over the lid and tie with twine and give as gifts..everyone I have made it for Loves it and of course I gave Scott some to take home

He knows how much I love steak cooked on the grill so we went to Grocery store and he picked up some steaks. We don't grill much so we didn't have tank on the gas grill but he managed to take our tiny grill and put it inside the gas grill so there would be a lid...and to top it all off it was drizzeling rain ..he uses some special seasonings so no A-1 on this steak

We took a walk out in the woods behind the house and since it was Bianca's 8th Birthday she got to go with. There is a shooting range out there and they have all kind of fake Wild Animals that the Bow hunters use for practice...Looks pretty real huh? I think Bianca thought it was
Then it was back to the house to pack the bags to leave in the morning. I Love having my Kids come to visit but is always sad when they leave to go home

I Love reading your Comments so feel free to tell me what you think and come back soon ...my next post will have a give away

THE CORN FEST IN ARTHUR AND SOME GREAT DEALS TODAY

2011-09-03T20:25:00.019-05:00

It has been a few good days this past week even though I was on the phone twice about 3 hours two days...but that is another story. I was doing a swap with our sweet friend Linda from Parkers Paradise and I finally got these in the mail yesterday.It took 10 days from the time she mailed them until they got here. I think the U S P S hired the Amish to bring the mail by Horse and Buggy. We were both getting very depressed over it. Now that I have them I have to pick Lindas brain for the best way to use them I tried to frame a few of them but they will be coming back out of the frame..They just look very blah all except for the little one on the left. I will be sending that to one of my sweetheart Daughter-in-laws who is always there when I need something and she even made my Business Cards and they are awesome. They are just black writing on white card stock since it does cost me for the ink to print them and I do wonder how many people that take my card ever even look at it again

Then another dear friend of mine put tops on all these dish towells for me to use for Christmas gifts and I think they are awesome and she did a great job...my Daughter-in-Laws and a few friends are going to Love them

I had a crazy quilt piece that my Grandmother made in 1902 and I cut the one and made a Teddy bear and had some little scraps. Well..I don't do crazy quilts so I mailed the pieces to my friend thinking maybe she could use them somehow and just look at what she did with them for me...a candle mat that I am really going to enjoy using and she did such a good job that I can't even see where she sewed them together. She used ticking on the back which she knows is one of my favorite fabrics :)

The package from here in the mail box waiting for me when got home today from the Corn Fest in Arthur,IL about 30 miles North of us
There was a thrift store near the Corn fest and I was thrilled with my finds there. I got this neat tote like thing on wheels and it zips closed on the top. It is like a tapestry fabric and I love the print. I got it for $5.00 and I saw some at the craft sale booths for $30.00. I will take it every time I go to a thrift store...fabric store and even Garage sales....no more carrying bags.

I also got this really neat old saucepan that was enamel and kind of rusty in the bottom. I think I will just paint the bottom and then decoupage a nice picture in it and use it in my gatherings I am working on to sell.

I had the flash on when I took this picture so it is not that great and I will do the happy dance when my son comes if he can figure out how to reset the software on here for my DC
We heard about a place near here that had a lot of neat fabric with good prices and low and behold we passed it on the way home and boy did I luck out there. They had a seperate building right next to their house and right on a main street.This is one of the vests you cut and sew and I just had to have it to make for a gift for someone. I will of course line it and put pockets inside since there is no where to put them on the outside. I think my friend will like it a lot
Then I got a big piece of the blue stripe fabric and it is nice and heavy like denim..The Burgandy piece is flannel and has a few flaws near the edge but I can work around them to make my raggy quilt I needed some flannel for. The same thing with the red ck piece which had some tiny holes and he gave me extra and I can work around the holes on that too when I cut squares,,,The green piece is really kind of ugly but no one will see it when I use it for the inside piece on my raggy quilts
I am really really thrilled with this awesome John Deere fabric that I will use for more raggy quilts
I can not imagine sitting under a canopy and pay $100.00 to sit there and try to sell stuff. There was a lot of jewelry and T shirts and of course no one was having sales to brag about except the trailers selling the Crushed Ice drinks..This is one of the 3 booths selling the metal signs
They even had a rock climbing wall and some young girl was brave enough to try it in 100 degrees heat

This was a display for the Big Pumpkin patch in Arthur and we wanted to go there but couldn't find it and traffic was crazy

The band was awesome and there was a good turn out of people willing to sit in that heat and listen

There was one booth that kind of caught my eye and she made all kind of neat things for people that were handicapped and in a wheel chair or used a cane..I just loved this nice big apron with the dog print and would have even liked it for myself
There was another booth that had a lot of items but they said they didn't make them and had someone else making their items. They were having a clearance sale on these totes and selling them for $3.00 each or 2 for $5.00..They were just thin fabric and had batting in the middle but I couldn't resist buying 2 and I did use them to carry my items that i bought
There was a nice quilting fabric shop in town too and I got some really nice and very different fabric to use in my gatherings and other items I want to make to take to craft shows in Oct...hopefully I will have both my sewing machines fixed in time to use them to finish up a lot of things
There was also a booth there run by the Amish and they were selling a lot of fabric and other sewing needfulls. I got this nice fleece..Navy Blue and 60" wide for $1.00 a yard. I bought 3 yards and already have some cut for the back of baby quilts and burp pads (hopefully I will get my machine back this coming week to finish these too)
Overall it was a good day and I had fun spending money and did a good job on getting a bang for my buck.

My next post will have a give away and one of the crafters at the Corn Fest donated an item for part of my give away and of course I will includ a link to her web site and hopefully she will get a few sales :)

COWDEN DAYS AND NEW ITEMS

2011-08-29T22:49:00.024-05:00

As some of you know this past week end there was a nice celebration in a town 7 miles from us...Cowden Pioneer Days in Cowden,IL and they even had crafters. Well...since I knew I could not sit there for 3 days with my back problems I decided to have my own craft sale in my Garage since a lot of the traffic going there went by our house.
Well..I will just call it a learning experience but I did meet a lot of people and even had a man come by and hired me to make cushion covers for his camper. Met some other crafters with some leads on other craft shows that I will try and attend.
This one crafter that amazed me the most was one that made things out of "Duct Tape" This picture below is some Flowers that she made from Duct Tape..Aren't they cute? and ver durable This is some tote bags she made and I would call them indestructable and very useful. They look much better when you see them than they do in this picture

This is some cool signs that another crafter made and the bigger one is an old cabinet door...now that is keeping some junk out of the land fills
They even had a small carnival
and every kind of food you could think of at reasonable prices
This is the inside of one of the log cabins that was a school over 100 years ago..kids now days should have to spend a month going to a school like this huh?
This is a man (Indian I think) that made things from logs and I did like his tables. He traveled around to a lot of the small town functions
They even had a section where tents were set up like the Indians had many years ago and they spent the week end living out of their tents
This is where they pitched the tents..Kind of like a small Indian Village
One of the games they had was throwing an ax at a big piece of a tree that was cut special for this event
This is beds that they slept in inside the tents..they were hand made from logs

This was a very long covered bridge in the park where the event was held..That was a lot of work just so people didn't have to walk up and down that hill
I have listed a few new things in my selling blog and this is a prim Americana tuck
I made...you can find it in my selling blog under primitive items
I really enjoyed making the Pioneer Bonnets and will be making more as soon as I get my sewing machine fixed..This one is for a young girl
And this one is a Ladies size
I also listed 17 pillows on ebay today and you can check out my auctions with link on the side bar This would be a great gift for that special fisherman and it is not to soon to start shopping for Christmas
Another one that any Fisherman would love or maybe for that Cabin on the Lake
I did a swap for some crazy quilt blocks and made some really nice pillows for anyone that loves old quilts but doesn't have room for any more quilts

This would be a great way to let a special friend know how much you care
This is one of my favorite verses..Footsteps in The Sand verse printed on a pillow for that someone special Be sure and check out my auctions and my selling blog as I will be listing more items every day that I can...time to try and save up so I can finish the fence for my furbabies I have been talking about doing forever plus it would be nice to have my sewing machines working

TRYING ONE MORE TIME

2011-08-23T23:37:00.022-05:00

I have been trying to post for a week..the last time after I had all my pictures uploaded and started writing I got a message that said there has been an error bla bla bla and of course everything was gone...so here I am trying again. I have been very busy for the past few weeks and have been doing a lot of sewing for the Pioneer Festival in a town 7 miles from here (Cowden,IL). Since it igoes for 3 days and since I could never sit there with my bad back for that long I decided to set everything up in my garage and see how well I can do, This is one of the Pioneer Bonnets I just finished this week. I like making them but have a problem with putting the ties on. This is another one and on this one I decided to leave the back hang down farther and I like that look better but we never know what buyer might like.
I saw Pillows something like this in a magazine years ago and thought I might try something different and used some very old buttons..

I thought this one was kind of different too..I didn't have them stuffed when I took the pictures but they are all done now and out in the garage ready to sell this week end

This is my new sewing machine that is made to sew heavy duty and able to sew through 8 pieces of fabric so would be good to use when I make my raggy quilts...the only problem is it messed up on me tonight and I havn't even had it for 2 weeks. Kind of aggrivating when I have more items I wanted to get finished for the sale. I will try and figure out how to fix it tomorrow and if I can't then I will have to ship it back and see if they can fix it or replace it
We decided to re do the Rose Garden out in front...I never had mulched it and grass was coming up all over inside it...we moved everything out and laid plastic down and then finally got it mulched
Looks a little better now don't ya think. Next spring I will be adding 6 or 8 more Rose Bushes and it should look a lot better and a lot more colorful

I have 2 of these wagons on each side of the rose garden and just planted Mums in them..Have 2 yellow ones in the one wagon and 2 rust colored in the other one. They are small right now and got them from WM for 97 cents @...Hopefully they will get a lot bigger
I am finally able to do the happy dance..Fence is up for the pups and they are really enjoying it. They were running and chasing each other and tusseling and having a really good time. It isn't quite high enough so I have this idea to get some wire fencing that comes on a roll that is for flower beds..kind of scalloped across the top and my idea is to add it on to the top and wire together..will see how that works. Will have to go to farm store after this sale is over and see what I can find,
They did get wore out and had to take a break and rest a little but it sure is nice to be able to open the door and just let them out..no hookinh up on a chain or putting a leash on them. I just hope they don't figure out how to jump over before I get a chance to make it at least a foot higher
I took the train up North to go to my GD 18th Birthday Aug 5th and they had a really cool Goodwill thrift store there and my son and his wife took me there the day after the party (Sunday). I got to their house on Friday night and my youngest son picked me up Sunday evening and I went to his house for a steak on the grill. Then he took me to my sisters to spend the night on Sunday and she took me to the Metra train on Monday and I took it to Chicago where I then caught the Amtrack to come home...Boy was I ever tired when I got back to Mode...so quiet here compared to my active week end

I bought these stacking heart boxes and they are corrigated cardboard..I would like to paint them or do something with them. Does anyone know how I can paint them or decorate them somehow?

I also got this cute little school desk and some emb hoops and little wooden crate and will be thinking of something to do to them too (suggestions appreciated)
It was so funny because my GD that is almost 21 has a new boyfriend and his name is Andy..when we got to the Good will store I saw this Andy and would you believe it was only 99 cents...isn't it cute..I told her now we each have our own Andy :)

This is the pond my son has in his back yard that he built a few years ago and I enjoyed sitting there and watching the fish and frogs and there coy just had a bunch of baby fish

Even Oscar enjoyed looking at the fish

It was sooo hot the day of the party that a lot of people took cover at tables set up in the garage. I liked sitting out in the screen house though My daughter and her friend went for a week end vacation to some cabins south of us and they stopped by on the 14th on their way home and we made them a nice dinner. Was nice to get to see them even if it was only for a few hours. My youngest son will be coming down on the 9th for a few days and I sure am glad that we have the fence up since he has 3 dogs and will be fun for them to be able to run and play inside the fence too. He has a ladadoodle..a Scottie dog and a little tiny dog (not sure what she is)..what an assortment of sizes LOL

Then it will be time to work some more in the yard and add on to the fence and maybe even just sit on my swing and watch the sun set :)

Why is it that you have to keep editing a post and when your done it still seperates the pictures and paragraphs no matter how many times you come back on and edit it and fix it. I just edited it again and hope it stays this time

OMG..OMG..A BIG SMILE IN MY MAIL BOX

2011-08-12T15:16:00.008-05:00

I was sitting in my chair on my computer when Billy brought the mail in and he had a big box in his hand and asked me what I ordered or bought and I said "I didn't buy anything" and then I went in T V room and opened the box..I saw the return address and the name sounded familiar and what a surprize I got.
This awesome plate with the Flag was in it with a plate stand and as you can see I already have it on my Tea Cart in my Dining room. I just took some things off the cart yesterday and was trying to decide what to put on ther. What is really funny is I have some Abe Lincoln thigs I made and was going to put them together like a gathering to sell but have now decided to keep them and put them with my plate. I am also going to make a pillow with a Flag painted on it to put with the other stuff..perfect decor since I live so close to Springfield huh? The plate was wrapped in some fabric and I did have a big smile while going through the box....The piece on the right says "All Things Grow With Love" and I just Love it...The piece on the left is a really cool print with wavy lines and little lines...It will go with my other fabric colors that I have stashed..The piece on the bottom has little Red Barns and Cows and Roosters and other Farm prints and will look cool for a cover for a little drop leaf table I just bought for my kitchen for Table Cloth (My Kitchen is Roosters and other farm prints..That piece definately had my name all over it

The piece on the top left is a nice big piece and another one of my favorite colors (I like earthy tones and not crazy about pastels in my own decor...how did you know my colors so well Linda)..I am not sure what I will make with that but have been thinking about making some raggy runners and some hot pads for fall so that will look good on them. The piece on the right has a small black print of leaves and is another color that will go with my other fabric I have in my stash..and then there was a printed note in there with a picture that says Primitive Blessings and the little note said

Hello my friend

Hope this finds you well and happy as life allows

I have put together this small package for you

If it makes you smile, I have accomplished my mission,May peace and love be with you every moment

Linda

Well..This box came with perfect timing since I have been in a slump for a while and very depressed for the last few days and was not happy about anything and not even able to sleep much..This box sent from someone I don't know very well did bring a big smile to my face and lifted my spirits which is a good thing since my DD and her friend are stopping by on their way home from a week end get away on Sunday and I am trying to fix a nice big dinner for them

Nellies friend likes the colors that are in a sunset so I painted this fabric and framed it for her. She is Russian and I asked her to please send me a Russian quote to put on something I was making and this is what she sent

красивая девочка <-- it's pronounced "kraseevaya dyevotchkah" and it means "beautiful girl".

This is how I wrote it on the painted fabric..I used a sharpie..How do you think it looks for someone that is mostly Irish ?

This is something that I have never seen before hanging in one of our pine trees..It is kind of mesh looking and is full of leaves. Billy said Bugs made it (must have been a lot of work) and it a nest they make for their babies to hatch...I wonder what kind of bugs it is and if they are good bugs or bad bugs.

I got home from my train trip this past Monday and that is another long story..I am not real fond of riding that train again and is always late and I do not like being Down town Chicago by myself and time of day or night.

I did get to go shopping with my son and DIL on Sunday to one of my favorite places to shop "Goodwill" I tole Billy it might be a good thing that we don't live real close to that one..I would be there all the time..but maybe if I was I could buy more stuff to make my gatherings that I want to start selling :)

I will blog all about my Chicago trip in my next post..Just had to show you all my wonderful box I got in the mail from a very sweet person

Thank you Linda from the bottom of my heart :)

DON'T MISS OUT ON FIRECRACKER KIDS GIVE AWAY

2011-08-05T01:43:00.003-05:00

Don't miss out on Firecracker Kids great Dog Days of Summer Give away..There is a link on my right side bar...just so you know though I hope I win.

Other news is I will be leaving Fri night on Amtrack Train to go to my GD Jennifers 18th BD party and will get to see some of the family there and then will go to my sisters on Sunday evening and spend a little time visiting her and then she will take me to the Metra train in town that goes back to Chicago to get back on the Amtrack to come home on Monday.

Hope to find time to go with DIL to a couple Goodwill stores on Sunday when there too..might find some more goodies for my Gatherings I am working on.

I told you all in my last post about the crafts that were shipped Fed X from up North..well...they were supposed to be here today and when I checked the tracking this morning it said box was on the truck for delivery but they couldn't find my house..Give me a break..they go by my house every day and they delivered our T V here last December. I called AGAIN and they said it would be here by tomorrow night and I quickly told them that it had to be here by 5 since I was going out of town. It says the box is 2# which makes me think there is going to be a lot of items missing which will NOT make me happy. I hope it gets here before I leave like they said but I am not counting on it.

I will be taking a lot of pictures over the week end to share
Have a great week end everyone

Gatherings..a stupid business owner and blogging and a lot of pictures

2011-07-31T12:02:00.023-05:00

Grab a cup of coffee or glass of ice tea as this is a long post with lots of pictures :)
This is what I have been doing since last Nov..I have been buying all kinds of goodies so I could make up some gatherings (I'm sure they won't be as nice as Tonyas tho)...I have spent just under $50.00 on all the things I bought.
It is hard to see some things because I have them all laid out on tables in the garage so you will have to kind of ignore the stuff in the back ground I am calling this my kitchen items..don't pay any attention to the stuff up against the wall or the fishing rods

This is some more kitchen items (I know..I take horrible pictures) :)
I took pictures on both sides of the tables and this is some of my candle holders..I don't know if you can see the wooden bench behind the candle holders but it has 2 drawers at the bottom that holds recipe cards..not sure how to display it but I am sure it will go with the kitchen items.
Some more candle holders
More candle holders and hard to see the brass corner ones..will have to do something to them since I am not crazy about the brass color

Back side of table with some more kitchen items

Some more items I am calling kitchen items although some things might get used in a different gathering
This is just some odd things but I do have some nice bird houses and other bird stuff
This is some of the shelves and most of them were 25 cents and 50 cents..I think I might have paid $1.00 for 3 of the bigger ones. I can't believe most of the shelves have a heart cut out..that must have been a big thing years ago
more shelves of course
and MORE shelves

This is misc items and some can go in a kitchen gathering and not sure where I will use the rest

I love the old tin dishes and bottles..there is some Abe Lincoln things in the bag

This is different size trays and even some big ice tongs...wonder what I will do with them

I already had the little bench..doll on the left is a wisk broom and one on the right has braided legs from some kind of rope..and of course another shelf and is also in the shape of a heart :)

This is all things that get hung on a wall..not sure what the metal arch shaped thing is in the back..will have to try and figure out something to do with it..There is also a heavy mirror with shelf in the back..I already had that
This picture is kind of hard to see. This is 2 little cabinets with doors..they are painted dark green and one of the right has mini quilts folded up in it and also has 3 small drawers with tiny doileys in it. The one on the left has little hooks inside and I made a tiny miny dress with rusty wire hanger..I have quite a few more oof these in a bin

This is some clocks and also some small wicker doll furn..my landlady hand painted the picture you see against the wall..really pretty poppies (I think)

I already had the frog stuff and fishing stuff but I bought the black metal things in the back and not sure what they are called. One has curved kind of shelves (I think towells rolled up in them would look nice..the other one has shelves that hang off it and not sure what it would be good for..looking for suggestions

This is a reproduction of an old Coke sign and the wooden thing in the back has a lid that lifts up

I would also like to mention that when you look at the links to other bloggers and see your name and have not seen a comment from me in the past week it is because i am not able to leave a comment. If I have to put my google info in (and sometimes it makes me do that 3 times)...after I have put that info in it kicks me all the way off..out of my gmail and sometimes then it will say..sorry I E has encountered a problem and must close bla bla bla...and that is why I can't leave a message. I am sure not all of you have changed your blog to do that so my guess is that blogger is messing things up. I used to be able to leave comments in a lot of blogs that I can no longer leave comment in. You might want to check your settings or design or where ever you go to change your statis and check it out. I know I saw where they had changed mine and I put it back but will have to check every once in a while to see if they messed it up again.

I know I have heard a lot of bloggers say they are having the same problem. Either Dani at Eagles wings changed hers in the last 2 day or blogger did it.

And now for the last part of my post..I have a problem with a shop I had my crafts in up North. She emailed me in May that she was closing her store the end of June and needed mu current address which I sent to her. Finally when July was almost over I emailed her and asked when she was sending my stuff. I got an email from her Friday and this is what it said

Hi Nancy...tracking #672132000002799...scheduled for today delivery....FedEx.

I took that to mean it would be here Fri and never checked the tracking until I saw a Fed x truck go by at about 3 P M..It was then that I saw she sent it to our address in AL and we moved from there the end of Sept. When I called fed x number they told me to call my carrier..excuse me but aren't the carrier..said they couldn't help me...Then Billy told me to call Fed X in Eergreen AL so I did..guy said it was already on the truck but he would call the driver and tell him to re route to this zip..couldn't get a hold of lady from shop..it was closed and it takes her forever to answer emails ..now I keep checking tracking and all it shows is that it was supposed to be rerouted.If they did deliver to house in AL they could just drop off and leave and people there could just keep it..I told the guy at fed X that i would use U P S for my shipping that I couldn't mail..I don't know when the tracking will show it is on the way here but I will be checking and may call fed x in AL tomorrow.

SO PROUD OF JENNIFER

2011-07-27T22:51:00.002-05:00

Way to go Jennifer..Nana is proud of you

My Granddaughter Jennifer who is just a tiny little thing and will be 18 next month was on her way home from work 2 days ago when she saw a little girl about 5 years old walking her puppy. She also saw a van that looked like he was observing the little girl

Jennifer drove down the road and turned around where she could observe the van and when she saw the little girl get near the van and the side door open she called 911. The police were just around the corner at a mall and came right away. When the van saw the police he started to pull away but they were able to stop him and they did arrest him and told Jennifer that she just caught a registered sex offender that there was a warrent out for.

The Mother did come out to thank Jennifer and she told the Mother that she should watch her child better..Way to go Jennifer

GARAGE SALES AND CRAFT SHOWS AND MORE

2011-07-24T19:29:00.019-05:00

I have been a busy little bee (when my back is O K) and making as much as I can for up coming Craft Show. There is a small town not far from here (population about 150) and they are having what is called "Pioneer Days" They will have a Carnival...Flea Market..Food..Arts and Crafts ..Bingo and more It will be held on Aug 26...27..and 28th. If anyone would like to check out what a small town can do for entertainment..just check out Pioneer Days, Cowden,IL....I will be going to check it out on Friday since I would really like to go and then on Sat and Sunday I will have a Craft Sale in my Garage. About 75% of people attending in Cowden will be going right past our house and it doesn't make much sense to me to make 3 or 4 trips hauling all my crafts up there and then having to sit there for 2 days in whatever kind of weather we have on that week end ...plus I never know when my back pain will kick in ..but if I have it here I can start setting it up a week ahead of time and if it isn't busy I can always come in the house. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that I have a good turn out. This is some of the candle mats I made from a very very old quilt that is mostly silk and satin and velvet pieces. I just like the looks of them (and my pictures never do justice to anything) These are a few more and all of them have muslin that has been primmed on the back

This is 2 pillows that I just finished and 1 has jungle prints and the other one is the verse "Footsteps in The Sand" The smaller one is made from a quilt block that a friend sent to me and I like the way it turned out too
These are some more of the quilt blocks my friend sent...I have added a few embellishments and I like the way they turned out too
Our 33rd anniversary was the 21st and I bought Billy the wind chimes that are hanging on the left. He loves Bamboo wind chimes and I was lucky to find these and of all places..I got them at the dollar general and they were only $5.00 :)
Billy got up early on the morning of our anniv and went to town and got me this box of Chocolates and what was interesting is Whitmans make everything in the U S..even the box..
He also bought me this 8 qt pressure cooker. He thought it was like a pressure cooker that would hold 8 qt jars...then I told him it was to cook 8 qts of food in and i would not use it so we decided to take it back
I was going through my album of my pups (Maggie and Calli ) and this was taken 2 years ago on the day we got them...It is so funny to see Maggie trying to put her head through a space in the fence...she was a stinker right from the start
and she is still a stinker and trying to take a toy away from Calli. It has been a very interesting 2 years but I still Love them as much as I did the day they came to their forever home.
They do love to lay on the couch and get up on it to look out the window..kind of crowded I would say
Well we took the cooker back and then we went to a garage sale Friday because the ad said Furniture and low and behold they had a regular size couch and it was the right style and colors...Lots more room now and 3 of them can get up on couch without being crowded..and I can finally lay on the couch without pulling my legs up to watch T V Yippee
I met a new friend on Facebook because we both have the same last name but Huggins was her maiden name...This is one of the things that she ordered from me for her Husband for their anniv..his Dog "Yukon" is the light of his life. I printed Yukons picture on fabric and made a pillow and says "Yukon" Daddys Boy
She was checking out my blogs and saw my Huggins Haven sign and she just loved it. This picture was made with her married name and says "Barretts Haven" even though you can't see it in the picture. Like I said..I can not get good pictures with the lighting anywhere in this house plus I have to take all my pictures with my cell phone. This was printed on a pale peach card stock and I added some lace to embellish it
She is a Train Lover (just like me) and this one has the coolest train (again not a good picture) and it says "Huggins Haven" My friend Gayle did the writing on the pictures with her software and then emailed them to me and I printed them and put them in Frames. She Loved them and I even got a phone call from her Husband telling me how much he liked everything. I still have 1 more order to finish for her that will be a huge pillow with Lionel Train and I will be quilting around the train engines. I will post a picture when I have it finished.

I am having sewing machine problems now and my wxpensive Viking machine just QUIT while I was sewing a seam and there was no reason for it to do that. This machine has been a big pain since the day I got it and I took it back many times. It never did any good and the last time I took it back she told me maybe I was holding the fabric wrong...Excuse me..There is no such thing as holding fabric wrong that will make a machine have any mechanical problems. I guess I will just have to contact rge C E O of Viking.

Then my cheap little Janome machine had the needle break and I could not get a new one to go in. I finally had Billy try and he was able to get it in but now the light doesn't work.

This is not a good time to have machine problems when I am trying to get a lot of things made for Craft sale :(
One day about 2 weeks ago we took a ride and went by the Shelbyville Damm and there was a few guys fishing out in a boat. Just a little to hot for me to think about sitting in a boat and not able to get out of the sun.
And last but not least..Could someone please explain to me how to sign out of google so iy will be easier to leave comments in other blogs. When I come on here and want to compose a new post I always have to click on "Sign In" I don't have to actually sign in but it takes me to the page so I can compose a new post.

Hope I haven't bored any of you...I will try and make my next post a little more interesting :)

Here is the water coming over the Damm and it was kind of a pretty sight. There is almost always at least 10 or more cars down there with guys trying there luck at catching something
I don't understand how a paragraph can jump from one place to another but it just did and I can never fix anything on blogger without messing up the whole thing.

ABOUT READY TO GIVE UP ON BLOGGING & UPDATE ON HAPPENINGS

2011-07-18T22:02:00.020-05:00

I don't know if it is just me but blog land is really getting stressful..Is anyone else having problems like me. Most of the blogs on my list that I read a lot used to be easy to leave a comment and enter in the give aways.
Noweven when I put the crazy letters in it still sends me to another page to fill in all my google info This is what pops up almost every time

Even when it shows my name and that I have a google acct it still says I have to fill in the information after submitting comment. I always leave a comment in every blog I read even if it is a short comment..can't do that anymore..when it makes me fill in all my google info it then kicks me off and wants me to log back in. This is a big hassell and time consuming with air card for IP. So if you no longer see comments from me that is why. Makes me wonder if it is even worth it to spend 30 minutes or more to leave comments in just a few blogs.

Blogging is my out let to visit my blogging friends.

Is blogger doing this to everyones blogs or is everyone changing it. I do have mine set where I have to approve them but it is because I get to much spam and Cora even found a virus in my comments and told me about it.

I thought blogging was supposed to be fun and not so many hurdles to jump over

Now on to the rest of my post..not all doom and gloom :) When I was in Chicago visiting Nellie I saw this sign and it really got my curiosity up..does it mean that only seniors can cross here or is it just a safe place for us to cross...what do you think it means?
I had some donuts on one plate and some steakk already cooked on another plate and decided to put them in the oven to keep my sweet little Maggie from eating them..this is what happens when you forget to check the oven before turning it on.
Had to take hot pads and remove the racks to the kitchen sink. I was lucky that when it cooled off it just peeled right off. A lesson learned..next time i will put things like this in the fridge or microwave :)
The bigger town of Shelbyville,IL has hand painted murals all over town and I just love looking at them..this one was on the wall near parking lot at Dr's office
This one really amazed me since you would swear it is actually rhe paper boy..even have the shadow there. One of these days when it isn't in the 90's we are going to take a ride and take a lot of pictures of all the interesting sights in town. I will be sharing them with all my blogger friends.
I have been painting some of my own fabric as some of you may know and I made this pin keep with some of my own designed fabric. I have 3 more of these started and hope to finish them soon. I think the hardest part is adding all the embellishments. I am going to try and put a belt on her with some gold ribbon and maybe a fancy button. I might list them on ebay when they are finished

Anyone that knows me of course knows that Nellie is my Daughter. Well...she is kind of outspoken and has an attitude some times (I don't know where she got that from) but I hand painted this fabric with leaves all over it and then wrote "Leave Me Alone" on it and I think it fits her to a "T"
I met a girl on FB and we became friends because her maiden name was the same as my married name..she ordered some framed signs from me and when we started talking about our fur babies she asked me to make something with a pic of their dog..this turned out kind of cute I think ...It says "Yukon" Daddys Boy (that is what he is :)

I made and framed this pic with her married name on it

... she is also a train lover (like I am) and I made her this sign that says "Huggins Haven" My friend Gayle had a lot of input on this and she found the picture and put the writing on both signs for me and also the writing under Yukons picture. I did print them and did some embellishing. It was nice to know that she gave them to her husband for anniversary gift and I got a personal phone call from him telling me how much he liked everything (especially his 4 legged best friend) and it was a nice feeling to know that someone appreciates your hard work.
If anyone would be interested in having something special made for themself or a friend or loved one please let me know and I will work hard (and Gayle too) to come up with something you will love too. Really hard to see what this really looks like..not a good picture and am using my cell to take pictures until I find someone to fix my camera software on computer
We had a garage sale this past week end and it really wore Billy and I both out..we live very rural but it wasn't to bad..sold a little over 100.00 (and of course some is already spent for milk and bread etc).

I still have some big items left so will run it 1 more time this Sat and reduce some prices and keep our fingers crossed.

Trying to come up with enough $ to put up a fence for my fur babies..no more chaining them out. I will be having some good sales in my blog and on ebay to come up with the rest of the money to start buying supplies.

Have been working on some OOAK prim items for the past 2 days
I don't know about anyone else but our garden is shot. Billys tiller quit so he has been mowing between the rows and then gets down on his knees in this heat and trys to weed around the bottom of every plant...first it was too much rain and now heat factor over 100 degrees every day and will stay that way for a while
You can see where he has the string up for the peas to climb up and they were doing real good but now the bottom of the plants are turning brown..Burnt up from the heat
We just might get some cucumbers if the heat doesn't cook them too.

Have invested over 100.00 in garden and have 1 tomato and 5 cherry tomatoes so far

We may try a few more tomatoe plants next year but no more big garden..Too much work and money to do it again. Will be looking for a nice size farmers market soon.

IN A SLUMP

2011-07-12T23:05:00.002-05:00

Sorry I havn't been in much..so many things going wrong. Garden is pretty pathetic..it is all getting dehydrated from the heat. Billy bought a riding mower and we knew it needed a battery but it is leaking gas so now he has to fix that also before he can ride to mow. It is a BIG yard (over an acre) and hard on him to do with push mower ...even if it is self propelled.
Trying to set up my garage sale for this Fri and Sat but has been soooo hot I can't even get out there to mark the stuff. This weather is making me feel like I am still in AL but no snakes or rats and this heat will not last as long up here.
They are having a function in a town 5 miles from here next month and they do have crafters but I do not enjoy the thought of sitting outside in the middle of August so I will set one up in my garage and I will go to the Pioneer Days function on the first day and then have a sale in my garage on the other 2 days. A lot of the people that will go to the sale will be driving past my house and rather than hauling all my things and tables up there I will just take my chances here. At least when no one is here I can come back in the house if I want to.
I made some framed items and a pillow with pic of there dog for a customer and they loved it and said they will be ordering more so that was something good this week.
I will post pictures in my next post in a few days to show all of you.
My main goal now is to sell enough stuff (GS and orders and ebay and blog) to be able to buy a fence for my fur babies.
I will be back in a few days with better news and some pictures so come back soon :)

AND THE WINNER IS

2011-07-01T12:09:00.002-05:00

I decided to pull 2 winners since so many of you entered... The first winner is Linda at Parkers Parasdise and I will give you a clue about 1 of the items..It is a potato bag..Please emil me with your mailing address

The second winner is Angie fron Lilraggedy Angie....Please email me your address..I would like to thank all of you that entered and I will be posting another give away next Month

I will be mailing gifts to both of you on the fifth..I may be adding a few things before I mail your gifties..I will post pictures of all the items when you both have received your items in the mail.

The doiley that was in the pic on my other post is the one I have listed on ebay if anyone is interested..I do have a lot more to list and may list some in my selling blog.

Thanks again to all who entered..

LAST DAY TO SIGN UP FOR GIVEAWAY

2011-06-30T11:02:00.002-05:00

Today is the last day to sign up for my giveaway..Please put your comment in my June 19th post..Ya never know what might be in your package if you are the winner. I will pick a winner tonight and will announce it tomorrow :)

I BEG YOUR PARDON!!!!

2011-06-25T14:37:00.012-05:00

Was able to get out in the yard again this morning and work on the Rose Garden some more...all that is left to do now is find a few more Rose Bushes and then mulch it..I will also be putting 2 small gardens on each side soon but will keep that a surprize until I get them done. I have had some suggestions from my blogger friends and it was a big help..Someone left a comment this morning about putting a wreath in the middle of the window and I remembered the door wreath I had and no where to hang it soooo walah..it went in the window. Then Billy hung a curtain rod up for me and I made this simple prim kind of curtain..I have the sides tied back with emb floss and now I can see in the picture where he kind of messed the curtain when he put the wreath up. It is hard to see the wreath in this picture but it just says "Garden" and has some fake flowers and mini garden tools on it..Maybe I can get a better picture tomorrow.

I added some more items to the front of the house too and I will be glad when more things are blooming. Maybe in a few more weeks it will look better. We have Bird feeders hung in the trees everywhere and 2 Hummingbird feeders and we are swamped with Hummingbirds and some pretty Yellow Finches and everything else you can think of. I don't even know what some of them are so will have to borrow the neighbors bird book and see if I can find what some of them are
Uh Oh.I did it again and got this picture in twice LOL

This is just a small area next to the steps where you come in the door to the porch / T V room and it is doing O K and is the home of some very noisy and I think a lot of their relatives are living in a lot of my other flower beds around the house. We were sitting out on the swing after we got done working in the yard and it started to drizzle...we were kind of protected under the trees as long as it was just raining lightly but the Frogs sure were likeing the rain and letting us know it :)

This is the porch where you come in the porch door and we put that lattice up there so when we get the fence up for the fur babies they can't sneak through under the railing..That is also another thing we will be doing soon..painting the railing and when the garden is done producing the fence from the garden will be moved to the side of the house.
When Billy was putting the Raccoon up on the fence for me there were 2 sticks showing under the rail so he sawed them off so it would look better and I am sure to also shut me up :)

Don't forget to sign up for my give away and be sure and leave your comment in the post that is dated June 19th..I tried to put a link to that post and couldn't get it to work :) Thanks

Don't miss out on the give away

2011-06-23T22:56:00.002-05:00

I have been busy in this room pulling stuff out to see what I will put in my give away and I think I will make one of my Potato bags and then put some goodies in it for the winner..still need 4 more followers and you must be a follower and leave a comment in this post http://insidenanashead.blogspot.com/ (I hope I have the link right..it is the postright under this one) I have been busy with a lot of things and not finished with the bag yet but will show a picture of it soon.
Thanks to all my followers and to those of you that leave a comment...you are all very special to me :)

UPDATE AND A GIVE AWAY

2011-06-19T00:58:00.020-05:00

Since I just had a Birthday yesterday and had a great trip to Chicago I will be hosting a give away..The rules are
You must be a follower and leave a comment for 1 chance. Post my give away on your sidebar and blog about it for a second chance (leave a second comment letting me know you did that)....I am not sure yet what I will be giving away but it will be something special and if I get over 25 people entering I will be giving away a second give away. This give away will end when I have at least 100 followers and I am really close.....maybe it will end the end of June :)
This little Angel in the picture is from Cora from Hidden riches from secret places (I am sure a lot of you know her) She makes the neatest little Angels and she had some that she had primmed and I was lucky enough to get 4 of them from her. I displayed them on the tie backs on my curtains in my Pioneer / sewing room and I love the way they look

Before I went to visit Nellie in Chicago I decided to make her some wall hangings from some of my hand painted fabric. Nellie only decorates her apt with items that are hand made and she kind of likes folk art but I figured she would like these
And of course this one was her favorite and she hung it right away in her hall. I will be making her a few more as soon as it quits raining and the sun is shining so I can go work out in the garage

I bought this basket at a thrift store a few weeks ago and would like to know if it is called a Baby's Butt since it is curved like that on the bottom ...does anyone know?
I have been working in my Pioneer / Sewing room trying to get it organized (been working on it off and on since Oct 1st...I do like the panneling someone put in this room..it looks nice with my prim stuff. This is the 2 shelves that Billy put up for me and I am having trouble with what to put on them and may end up changing them again before I am finished :)

Then he put this shelf unit on the other wall and I am srill working on it also..I enjoy looking at all my favorite things when I go in there to sew. We did have a twin bed in there when we moved in but I sold it to make more room for my goodies
We also have some vintage stained glass windows that Billy put right in front of the real window. The porch was added on right on the other side of this window so there is no worry about ever opening it :)

and then of course I put this picture in again by mistake and blogger won't let me take it out...sorry about that
This wall is on the right side of the door going into the living room and I have another little shelf to put under the picture on the left...The little white cabinet has my dishes from when I was 8 years old and I can remembering using them...I even made my Dad a pizza with flour and water for the crust and I think I put catsup on it...I do remember him eating it and there are lots of good memories I have with my old child hood dishes

I have little doll cribs in there that are about 100 years old and belonged to my Aunt and I have some of my porcelain dolls in them that I made in the 90's and also some of Nellies old dolls

This is my sewing area and Billy is going to be putting some more shelves up in that area for me. The closet that is to the left goes all the way through to the guest room and he took the closet rods out and I have shelf units in there all the way through to store a lot of my fabric. This house is a lot smaller than where we lived before so I am sure it will be an on going thing trying to find a place for everything

This is an old window that we found in a pile out in the woods. It had 1 pane of glass left in it and we took it out

Then I painted it and Billy put it up at the back of my Rose garden I am working on

The roses are doing pretty good and he added this rail fence behind it. My plans are to hang something in each open space and then I am trying to decide how I can put something up behind it so you can't see right through and so it looks more like a window. I thought about hanging fabric on it to look like curtains but not exactly sure how I will do it. All suggestions are appreciated

As most of you know our little Annie has epilepsey seizures and one of the things that sets her off is when it is thundering and lightening. I can't stop the thunder but I did eliminate the lightening coming through the windows. All the windows now have blinds that can be closed and my only problem was the window in the door that goes outside. It is a metal door and the curtain bracket is held up with magnets.

One night when I couldn't sleep I was sitting out there and looking at that door and trying to figure out how to make a curtain I could have tight against the window but be able to open during the day to let light in.

I thought about putting ties on the bottom so I could open it and tie it up but then decided that would be a pain.

Can you figure out by looking at it up how I got it to do that?

I put the little round magnets across the bottom between the front and the lining and stitched them in place...now when it is down the magnets cling tight to the door and when I fold it under they hold it in place at the top. I was very pleased with the way they turned out and I made Billy admit that I am a genius LOL.

There is 10 windows out there counting the door...they all have what I call toppers since I don't want it to be dark out there when I have the blinds open. The fabric is a nature theme with Moose..Bear and other animals and trees. I love nature. I only have 2 more toppers to go and it will be done all except for painting it out there and then putting my nature theme boarder around the top..then I can work on the kitchen ..yeah

And last but not least..I am having problems leaving a comment in a lot of my favorite bloggers blogs. When it makes me sign into google with my gmail address then it kicks me off of my gmail and in order to get back on I have to log back in with my air card (that is what I have for internet now since we have to many trees to get anything else) and then I have to sign back in to IE and it is a big hassell and takes 15 or 20 minutes to get back to my blog. So if some of you wonder why you don't see comments from me that is why and I hate not being able to leave comments :(

JUST SOME NEW NEWS & A GIVE AWAY COMING SOON

2011-06-05T16:44:00.006-05:00

Yeah..it is self propelled Look how big the garden area is...had to use the weed wacker until we got the mowers

I will be leaving this Thurs for Chicago and back is a little better ---hopefully I will be taking the train to Chicago on Thurs night to visit my Daughter (Nellie) for a few days in Chicago.

I will be back Monday morning June 13th ...I will post a blog then with lots of pictures from my trip and also some pics of the progress with the garden. Billy has put a fence up around it and then a wire across the top which I have hung various things on to keep Bambi and other forest friends from eating our veggies. I have cut up some deoderant soap (Dial and Irish spring) and it is inside mesh fabric that I have pulled together at the top and tied to the wire,,,Billy has also tied some empty milk jugs and tied them around in a few places...then I took a bright orange rain coat with a hood used by hunters when it is raining. I cut some strips and tied them around plus we made a scare crow with part of it ..won't get damaged in the rain. He made his trip back up to N IL and came home with 2 mowers (that you walk behind) and a pressure cooker and some berry plants and rhubarb plant..they are now planted and he has been planting in the garden as much as possible when it is cooler in the morning and the evening (in the 90's most days lately or raining)

We also have 4 or 5 rose bushes that are starting to bloom that we just bought this spring and some of my flower seeds are starting to come up.

I am not a patient person and it always seems like it takes forever for seeds to bloom and then fall and winter sets in about the time they look real pretty.

Fred has been planting some big fields of sweet corn and I am sure that will be very tasty when it is ready to pick.

I have high hopes to can and freeze some of our veggies this fall. As soon as the garden is finished we will be taking the fence down and putting it up on the side of the house for our 4 fur babies.

Now if I could find a few barn cats that have been fixed to chase the moles out I would be a lot happier.

Hope you all have good weather where ever you are and that if you have planted a garden that it is doing great.

I will be having a give away in my blog (maybe with 2 winners) when I get back so come back and get in on the fun next week. I will have someone checking my blog while I am gone and approve your comments...I hope I have a ton of them to read when I get home :) I will be approving them until Thursday :)

Sorry I have been AWOL

2011-05-19T15:33:00.001-05:00

Sorry I have been AWOL for so long..I had a new post ready but can not sit at computer for more than 5 min due to very bad back pain. I will be leaving to go to Chicago on June 9th and will try to come in with a post before I leave.
I have fibro and it has kicked in on my whole back now..not getting much sleep and can't find anything to get the pain to go away.
I will be back as soon as I can
Thank you to all my blogger buddies for your patience,

A VERY INTERESTING WEEK

2011-05-13T19:50:00.024-05:00

This will be a post covering many topics (since Blogger hasn't worked for the last 4 days.
First of all I would like to mention that I will be having a give away as soon as I reach 100 followers and not that many more to go.
I will start with telling about my Mothers Day. My oldest son and his wife came down for Mothers Day and brought me a surprize by bringing my #6 son. My oldest son brought me this nice photo frame and This Hydrangia plant (which is now planted near the end of my Flower bed out in front looks great and will have pleanty of room to spread out

# 6 son brought ne a nice hanging plant..a double Impatience plant and I hung it up out in front and had a Humming bird come by it the same day...guess I will go and buy a feeder and also plant some more red flowers so the Hummer will come back and maybe even bring some family members (He also gave me a card with some cash that I had fun spending:)

Then our LL which I don't even like to call our LL since he is actually also a sweet neighbor and friend and now I call him the Angel from across the road
Billy trimmed some dead branches off trees and had them in a pile and along comes Fred and picked them up and hauled them outof the yard...not to mention that he also came up and cut our lawn last week. We do not have a mower right now and are having a hard time finding one and Billy has been cutting all around the house with his weed wacker...We have a lot of Ticks (and I hate ticks) and keeping the grass cut short will make it not so bad. I am ordering some home remidies next week to keep ticks off of us and our fur babies
Billy finally was able to put my swing back up and I am soooo happy. I have had it for 10 years and now I couldn't live without it...Fur babies like it a lot also

When we moved here the yard was like an open slate and we have been working on it to give it some curb appeal..It will probably take us all summer but if kind of fun making it like we want it
Check out this old window frame that we found out in the woods behind the house...wait until you see what it will look like when I get it made into something very different

This is 3 pieces of fence that we already had and have a spot planned for them too
You will be really surprized to see what I do with these
and with these

This is how it looked in front of the house when we first started planting

This is where we buried our little cat that passed away in march and I am sure he was at least between 23 and 24 years old...It looks much different now

This is the corner of the yard right near the back door

We just put this out in front and planted some Rose Bushes..It is still a work in progress

This is the side of the small garage and is still a big mess

This is a circle in the driveway so you don't have to back out..can just go around..Just started working on this area too
This is the side of the big garage and not much happening there yet either
This is an area near the back door that will take a while to get in shape
This is a bird house that was meant mainly for looks but Billy thinks there is a nest in it. It is real close to the house so it will be easy to keep an eye on it
And this is what happens every morning when I get out of bed and go in the bathroom...this is what I see when I come out...so of course I don't even bother to try and make the bed..Thank you Anndarie from making me make the bed right away
Even Bianca and Annie are very content in their new forever yard :) I had some GREAT finds when we went to Goodwill on Mothers day and I had fun spending my Mothers Day Money and I got a lot of bang for my buck..I will post pictures of my finds in my next post and maybe even an update on my yard :)

ANGELS EVERYWHERE...EVEN ON EARTH

2011-05-04T23:16:00.002-05:00

This will be a long post...so be prepared
I would like to tell you all about some real Angels on Earth that I have met...and there are quite a few..I have Angels I have met on the internet and have received many nice surprize packages from all of them.
I have taken long trips many times in my car with 5 or more of my kids (and they were all pretty young..no help with driving) and one time I drove from South Bend Ind all the way to Clearwater Fla (just one of many times I left my X) and I know for sure there were Angels riding co-pilot..there were no Cell phones then....scarey to think about now looking back , but I did have a CB in my car which did make me feel a little better and safer on my voyages.
That was many many years ago and I know I could never do that now nor do I want to.
I have a friend that I met about 15 or more years ago and she worked in a fabric store and I liked her so much that I wouldn't shop there unless I knew she was on duty.
Our friendship grew from that and we just hit it off well. We shared stories about our lives and what was going on and she has never (and I do mean never) forgotten any of my tales about my life.
In 1999 she called me and asked me if we wanted a pick up truck..it was her nieces and she lived in South Carolina..the Church wouldn't take it because it was stick shift and my friend couldn't take it because she couldn't drive stick shift.
Of course we said yes.It was an 86 Ford Ranger with only 62,000 miles.
Billy got on a plane and was going to fly to pick it up. They had a layover in Atlanta and he was stuck there for 39 hours (without sleep) and of course we did not have a cell phone then..I was going crazy sitting in IL and worrying about him. He bought a phone card at the airport and it was $10.00 for 10 min..a very big rip off. He finally got a flight that took him to a town about an hour away from where he needed to be and they went and picked him up. When he got back to their house he just took the key ant thanked them and started to head home. This was in December and he did hit some icy roads and slid off the road and was able to get back out. then he slid off a second time and couldn't get out. A nice young College guy stopped and tied a rope to the truck and pulled him out (another Earth Angel and didn't know his name either) This is when he decided that he better pull off and go to Motel and get some sleep.
When he called me from the Motel and told me he gave them the last of his cash I could have flipped so...I called the manager at the Motel and asked her if I gave her my CC number would she give him the cash back. That is when she told me how he looked like the walking dead and not in good shape at all. I had to have someone take my credit card and send her a pic and my signature and then she took it. Where am I going with this story??? you will see soon.
I also had to call a cab to pick him up and take him to a grocery store so I could send him some money by western union..He got there and their computer went down. This nice cad driver (another Earth Angel) waited until he could get the money and then took him back to Motel to get the truck and head home..I told him "Make sure you give him a nice tip"
He headed back out and 15 min later got to Rt 65 and saw it was clear and headed home and when he got home he did get out and kiss the driveway :)
When my friends sister found out about all the problems he had she sent us some money to help with part of the trip plus pay for new tags and title. I told my friend that wasn't nevessary and she just said ..Don't worry about it because her sister enjoyed doing things like this since when she was in College and having a hard time with finances she had a lot of Angels help her out and she said if she ever got to where she could do it she wanted to do the same thing and "Pay It Forward"
That was only the beginning..my friend and I talked a lot and when ever I had a minor problem I would get this envelope with some cash in it. Just whatever she felt like sending. One time we lived next door to a man that lost his wife to Cancer and he just never got over it. He had NO teeth..didn't shave or cut his hair..always looked grungy etc etc. We would have him over for supper a lot so he could have a decent meal and when this Lady found out (remember I talked to my friend that was her sister a lot) I got an envelope in the mail with $300.00 cash and a note for being kind to our neighbor.
I can't count all the times she did this and there would just be an envelope in the mail with cash. There is NOTHING I can do to thank her since no one in her family knows she does this.
The real topper was when we were trying to figure out a way to go back to AL to get the rest of our things that we left in storage there.
My friend and I were trying to calculate the costs for truck gas etc and she asked me where we were going to get that kind of money and I told her Billy was going to take out a loan...Well I get a phone call from her the next morning to tell me her sister decided that she was going to help us get our stuff and forget about getting the loan. Said she got a bonus at work that she wasn't ecpecting.
My friend had my ck acct number because she would put money in my acct sometimes so I could use my CC/debit card to buy her something she wanted on line...she did not have a CC and of course I didn't mind.
Her sister was coming down to visit her the week before Billy planned to leave and I bank on line so I check my account every day and when I checked the one day I could not believe my eyes..she had made a deposit of $1,700.00..When I showed Billy he did get tearie eyed and I was speechless. It just blows my mind to think someone could do that for me AND want NOTHING in return..I still think about it EVERY day and it still blows my mind. I was able to talk to her on the phone when she was at her sisters (my friend) and thanked her from the bottom of my Heart....all she said was "It was something she wanted to do with the bonus she got that she wasn't expecting" How can you ever thank someone like that..There are no words except "Thank You"
It was also my friends sister that gave us a car in 2000..a Toyota and my #1 son drove to her state and picked it up and drove it back...it was the same thing..Money came in the mail to pay for tags and title transfer
It is her sister (my friend) that drove down here 5 hours and bought all the paint and supplies for us to try making some of our own fabric designs. She also sends me fabric and sewing supplies so I can sew and make all the quilts I am making for my kids. Another Angel on Earth
I always knew there were guarding Angels watching over me but am now finding out that there are some that are right here on Earth
Sorry for such a long post but it makes me feel like I am thanking her even though she will never see this post.
Thank God for all Angels in all shapes and sizes..weather we can see them or not and some that we don't even know their name :)

BEST LANDLORD EVER AND A GREAT NEIGHBOR...AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW HIS NAME

2011-05-01T16:50:00.012-05:00

We have been sweating it out and not getting much sleep since Friday..Our LL "Fred" came up on Friday and saw the mess and said he would call a neighbor..This is the tire marks from where the back tires were....Right in front of my flower bed next to the house. He said the neighbor couldn't come until Sunday but we had until today to get truck and tow dollie back This is the hole where the left front tire was buried and you can see how close the front edge of the truck was to the 1 car garage that is at the top end of the driveway

It was like seeing an Angel pulling in our driveway on a big Tractor this morning about 10 A M..Fred was already here and since he just lives kitty corner he always rides up on his little cart (He has 2 of them).
They hooked a chain up from Tractor to front end of U Haul and Billy was in it ready to drive it out
He just pulled it real slow and in less than 5 min that big Ugly truck was out of the hole
Fred was guiding Billy to back it out (I guess he wanted to make sure he got it out of there and in the driveway
He made it and neighbor waited to make sure it was all clear..This neighbor lives up the road about 5 miles and would not take a dime..Fred said..Thats what neighbors are for..He considers us neighbors more than renters and him a LL.

When Billy was in AL he picked up some sausage that you can only get there and they were 3 1 # packs for $10.00 and he brought back 3 for Fred (by His request) and when I asked Fred how much we owed he said not a dime and said he was going to give neighbor a pk of his sausage...Billy gave him one of ours and when we gave Fred his 3 pks and he tried to pay us we refused to take it....He kept trying to hand us some money and I told him I couldn't take that because it looked like it was counterfeit..He just gave a big smile like always (This is the ONLY person that I have ever met in my life that ALWAYS has a big Smile.) Everytime I ask him if I can do something in the yard or house He Just says "Nancy" you can do whatever you want..what a special man huh..and what a blessing to have such a great neighbor that we never even met come to our rescue..and..we don't even know his name.

We took the truck back and stopped at Menards and WM and bought some paint for the kitchen and T V room and some fabric to finish the curtains and rods to fix the closet..and I am now about to start decorating and doing "Whatever I want" :)

HE MADE IT HOME AND NOW WE HAVE NEW PROBLEMS

2011-04-30T11:38:00.014-05:00

Well..He made it home Thursday night at 10 P M..would have been here an hour sooner but when he got of interstate at the Effingham exit he realized he got off 1 exit to soon so he turned on a side street thinking he could go around the block and get back on and get off at the next exit...well...that didn't happen because the road he turned on was a cul de sac and now he had to figure out a way to turn truck with tow bar and car behind it around. 2 men happened to see him out their window and came out and helped him take the car off of tow bar and then take tow bar off truck..then he got it turned around and they hooked it back up and he was on his way.
I wasvery happy to see the U Haul pulling in the driveway. He parked it and came in to have a cup of coffee and pet the 4 excited dogs and of course Annie got so excited she had a seizure. When we went to bed all 4 dogs had to go also. Bianca and Annie laid on each sode of Billy and Maggie got up and laid on the cedar chest at the foor of the bed and Callie laid on her blanket in front of the dresser.
He got up before me in the morning and took car off tow bar and tow bar off of truck. They wrote the contract up for tow dollie twice so that was the first problem with U Haul He was trying to turn truck around to back it up in front of garage door but that didn't happen.If you take a shovel and dig up some soil it runs off the shovel like thick soup. Couldn't tell by the 2 or 3" of top soil..Now we have a problem...He even took a big piece of flagstone and tried to put under tire..no luck. Can't get a jack under there decause truck is buried up to the axel

It has the front end about 5 feet from side of the 1 car garage at end of driveway and the back end is about 10 ft from edge of house... I do not ever want to see a U Haul in my yard again
He was able to pull the ramp out even though it was only about 4 feet from edge of house and started unloading
More than half way here and wondering how he would get the heavy tool box off the truck

Everything is off and now it is time to tackle the tool box...Took most of the stuff out of it and put in bins to make it a little easier..He did get it off and in the big garage with his other tool boxes
He had an idea that maybe he could dig a trench behind the tire to help back it out...Nope..that isn't going to work because the gas line that goes from the house out to the butane takk is right there under the tire...not sure what to do now but Fred has someone coming over tomorrow morning to see about pulling it out but it will be a job since there really isn't a place to hook up to truck. I sure hope his friend can help us. We can't call a wrecker because they can't get in there without sinking worse that we are

Dogs were very happy to see the ottoman that they used to get up on to look out the window..now we are really going to have our work cut out for us trying to decide what we can find room for to keep and what we will be adding to our garage sale.

Bianca has decided that her Daddy can not leave again without her and I have also made that decision. Don't know which was worse..Him driving to AL and back and loading the U Haul or me sitting here wondering if he was O K and dogs looking for him and trying to run out in the woods thinking he might be out there. That will be the final trip for Billy to ever load and drive a U Haul filled to the brim..But just let it be said that a 70 1/2 year old can drive 1400 miles round trip and load a u haul and then unload it.

Now the fun begins with trying to put 10# of sugar in a 5# bag

ALMOST HALF WAY

2011-04-28T14:09:00.002-05:00

Some of you have emailed or sent a message asking about if Billy got caught in the bad storms in AL..He is O K and stayed an extra night at his Aunts and missed it (I Insisted)
He is now almost 1/2 way home and I will just be sitting here and worrying until I see the truck pull in my driveway.
No more trips by himself and no more being away from the dogs. They are going crazy looking for him and Annie keeps trying to go out in the woods to look for him...she won't take all her meds for me and she has had 2 seizures.
Please keep him in your prayers until he is safely home. I will post it when he gets home.
I think he said there was 143 killed in Birmingham..but of course all that is on the news is Prince Williams Wedding which I could care less about it..Why aren't they talking more about the U S and what is going on here.

It's Almost Over :)

2011-04-27T21:19:00.007-05:00

Billy left for S AL from Central IL on Monday morning at 5 A M and he got there at 5:30 P M...had good weather going down and was driving our Dodge which is easy to handle.
He picked up the 26 ft U Haul Tuesday morning and noticed there was a bolt in the one tire so of course that shot half the day waiting for U Haul to come and put a new tire on. He was able to get most of the things from our storage unit down there that we didn't have room for when we moved up here last Oct. It was getting dark and he said he had about 2 more hours of loading and he went early this morning and finished loading. Then he was supposed to go to another dealer to pick up the tow dollie to tow our car back. They didn't have it but they did charge him on our debit card before they told him...so now he had to go back to first dealer for the tow dollie and pay again. Since the truck was reserved in my name (even though he used his card to pay) I have to call U Haul in Birmingham and have them put it back (That should be interesting)
And to top it all off they had Tornado warnings for AL..Tenn and Miss so we decided he should stay an extra day at his Aunts and leave for home tomorrow.
I was just a little bit worried about him driving down and loading the truck but now I will be a nervous wreck until I see that U Haul with the car behind it in my driveway.
Some tornados did hit AL and from what I was told it did kill some people in Birmingham. I hope there are no winds or rain on his route coming home. He said if he drives the U Haul 50 miles an hour it does want to sway. This is what we tried to get to haul the car but it will be just a tow bar with front wheels of car up off the ground This is the biggest truck we could get..26 ft and everything is in it..requesting prayers for a safe trip for him and I will be doing the happy dance when I see him pull in

I would like to thank everyone for their prayers for Catherine and also a BIG thank you to Mark and Kelly Herron from McHenry IL for their donation of $100.00..Every bit helps and I am goping that when school is out they will have enough for their family to make the long waited trip to Sea world. I will continue my fundraising efforts until at least the end of May
I am planning to have a garage sale and craft sale near the end of May to try and raise more funds for Catherine plus I have over 30 items I listed on ebay in the last 2 days that I will donate part of every sale for Catherine
Here is a link to my ebay auctions http://k2b-bulk.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ListingConsole&currentpage=LCActive&ssPageName=STRK:ME:LNLK plus I will have one on the sidebar if anyone wants to check my items out...I will be listing more the rest of this week so check back often and once again I want to thank everyone for their prayers and donations for this sweet little girl :)

TRIPLE CELEBRATIONS

2011-04-22T21:36:00.022-05:00

Yeah-----we made it---we turned 2 yesterday (21st) and we are still alive and Mom still has all her hair..it might have more Grey in it but she still has it all.
We had some nice treats for our Birthday And Dad gave some to Bianca and Annie too. We like our White sisters so we don't mind sharing but we do wish they would drop their treat for just 10 seconds LOL

Dad went to the store yesterday (on our BD) to pick up a little stuffed animal for Gavin for his BD. When we saw Mom take it out of the bag we got all excited...we really did think it was for us for a BD gift.

Mom took it in the guest room and put it on the dresser in there and she didn't shut the door real tight and we wondered why she wouldn't give us our toy so Maggie went in and took it off the dresser and we had a good time trashing it because that is what we like to do. Mom scolded us and took it away but we did have fun for about 2 minutes

This is one of our gifts they got us..new collars and Maggie couldn't wait to get hers on..Maggie has the Blue one and Calli's is Red
I wanted to get up in Moms lap and she kept telling me to go by Maggie. Couldn't she see that Maggie was hogging the couch. But since I do mind most of the time I did what I was told and got up on the couch and just laid on top of Maggie :)

There is a hole cut in the bottom of the kitchen door for the kitties to go out on back porch to eat and to use their litter box. When Mom or Dad go out the door Maggie lays on the floor with her head through the hole.

Here is her back side in the kitchen. She is pretty funny with some of the things she does
We love to tussle and rough house sometimes and especially in Moms recliner

Mom still remembers when she went outside for a few min and we ripped the arm on her recliner. She keeps the recliner covered so no one can see it.

We did tear up the arm on Dads recliner first and it just wasn't fair not to do one of them on Mom's. They were very upset with us but that was about a year ago and we are 2 now and are trying real hard not to get in so much trouble. Good thing they Love us so much or we might not be here now...I am sure they will be getting some new recliners and we will be good and not rip them. Maybe they will let us have the old ones :)

We also got a bath tonight and Mom rinsed us with Apple Cider Vinegar diluted in water. It is supposed to help us not get ticks on us. So now we smell like vinegar a little insted of a dog

Can't see Maggie very good in this picture because she went by the door and just kept barking to go out
I have received some donations for Cathleen. Some of my blogging friends donated $35.00 and you can see their names in the comments in post below this one.

I hope to see many more pictures like these of Catherine and praying for a Miracle

We are still hoping for more donations and just got 3 --- they put the money right in her PP acct so there would be no fees.

The donations were from

Daniel and Brenda Herron, Rebecca Mitchell and Tim Mitchell, just put a combined total of $300.00 into Kristy Shivers account...That will help with the gas for them to drive to Sea World since they live in GA. What makes the trip harder is the soaring gas prices. If anyone can even afford $5.00 donation it will be helpful :) You can still click on the link on the left sidebar or you can email me for the email address to go right to her PP account.

This is the third celebration. We have been buying water since we moved to this house Oct 1st and LL did say they were piping in water this spring. They actually started digging the ditch next to the road last winter.
They came Tuesday to dig the trench to bring it up to the house

It was very cold and damp that day and I could tell they were very cold but they were bundled up
It did kind of make a mess in the yard but I welcome it to be able to get water for drinking and cooking right out of the kitchen sink

I took this picture out my kitchen window where they are digging the trench up to the house

This is what it looks like when you pull in my driveway from the road out in front

We will need to do a lot of landscaping when they are finished but that is O K because there was a lot of things I wanted to do and now I will have help.

LL also sent the bug guy up here to spray around the house for bugs..He is such a great man that I hate to even call him when we have any kind of problem

They still have to cut a hole through the basement wall to run the line inside...Right now there is a lot of big puddles and mud and hopefully it will quit raining soon so they can finish it

PLEASE HELP CATHERINE

2011-04-14T15:58:00.010-05:00

This is my oldest son Dans little niece and she has been diagnosed with a brain tumoe. Her name is Catherine Shriver and she will be 12 on Oct first. She had been complaining about headaches for quite a while and every Doctor they took her to said she was making it up (which means to me that they are calling a child a liar) It was actually an eye Dr that found it when doing an eye exam.

After her parents persistance and making them do more tests the dreaded news was found nad it has been a real struggle for the parents and Catherine. Such a trusting little girl trying to do what the adults say she has to do a

They reside in GA and the Father "Eric" is in the Army and has done 4 tours in Iraq and the Army didn't send him home when the Mother got the news...The red cross sent him home

The parents would like to take her on a vacation before she goes blind so she can have some memories. The Army is taking care of the medical bills but they need money for a Camera and to take her to Sea World. She loves animals and wanted to be a vet when she grew up.

There has been a lot of stress on the whole family and I can't imagine in my wildest dreams what I would do if this was my child. She has lost some of her memory and it will more than likely get worse

Here is a link to Catherines Web site that was put up for her and I will post a link on my sidebar if anyone would like to donate..even $1.00 or $5.00 or as much as you would like to donate would be helpful.

Thank you to all of you that make a donation..to make a donation just go to PP and click on send money and then her email is sweet_sourk2000@yahoo.com and then click on personal and then gift..no charges that way

MADE A FEW MORE & LISTING SOME IN MY SELLING BLOG

2011-04-12T07:15:00.011-05:00

I made a few more hand painted pieces of fabric and like the way some of them turned out. None of them can be duplicated but I can use the same colors when I make more. These are not done with paint of dye but with paint pigment and when they are dry it will never wash out I think these would make some nice coastersand are definately OOAK

It amazes me how some of the colors blend and look good together

You need perfect weather to do them outside. This piece has buttons and small scissors and I think it would look good made into a pin cushion

You can really come up with some cool designs when you just wipe the brush with different colors

Someone told me they could see the image of a cross on this piece and when I looked I saw it to..can you see it?

I think my favorite colors are the greens and orange..but I use other colors too that others might like

I like the affect this one has

I can also see an image on the bottom of this one..can you see it? It amazes me also on how some of them end up with images that I did not put there.

I will be listing a lot of our practice pieces in my selling blog at a good price. Not sure which ones to list and which ones to keep and make something out of. I can even see a OOAK quilt made with these and maybe mix in some store bought fabric.

My friend buys all the supplies and then tells me what to try so I guess you could call me a worker Bee :)

But I still Love her

2011-04-02T21:02:00.026-05:00

I was taking a walk down memory lane yesterday trying to remember all the things my pups (mostly Maggie) have done since June 12th 2009 when they cam to live in there forever home. Calli isn't to bad and she usually only gets in trouble when she is following Maggie This is the list I came up with that I can remember She has...Chewed my shoes...my eye glasses...Quilts on the bed and in her crate...blankets..dog beds ...throw rugs...accent pillows..sheets while they are on the bed..paper plates..paper napkins and paper towells..dog toys..takes the other dogs treats when they aren't looking...moles from outside..rocks...acorns..anything plastic..a whole couch..the arms on our recliners...my crafts..silk flowers..Billys shoes..ball point pens...my cell phone (but it still worked) my decorated paper mache box..I took a huge fish hook out of her mouth..Grabs the cover on the couch when Calli is on it and rips it...ate 2 meat loves I made for company..pork chops (boneless) any food that she can reach. She will also take off if she gets a chance. Someone told me that labs usually quit doing that when they turn 2 but my vet says they will always do that. This is what the pups looked like when we got them...how sweet huh? I guess Maggie didn't like this nice blanket I put in her crate

Here they are sharing a rawhide chew..Maggie no longer shares and will take things from Calli or Bianca or Annie :)

It was very very hot in AL so I thought I would be nice and got them a pool...never again because I think it drew mosquitos and that is how Maggie got heart worm

They did not like being fenced in and always figured out a way to get out no matter what kind of fence we put up

Here they are getting some of the attention that they love from their Daddy

Maggie Loves to eat and even licks out the bottom of the dog food bag

This is the only and best thing that came from living in AL..This is our vet there with maggie and Calli on their first B D...he is the best vet EVER and if it wasn't 900 miles I would be taking my dogs back to him

There are times when they are behaving but they always have to be near each other

Maggie can sleep anywhere in any position

This is a little stuffed dog that belonged to our little poodle that died a few years ago. For some reason she never tried to trash it and makes me wonder if she knew it belonged to Keoki and she is gone now

This was Maggies favorite chair and we had to leave it in storage...I wonder if she will remember it when we go get the rest of our things

This is right after Maggie had her surgery and also the shots for heartworm. She went in the guest room to take a nap and took my sock out of the clean laundry with her..not sure what that was all about

This is after I made the bed in the guest room and she fixed it the way she liked it for her nap

Every time we go to town we almost always take all 4 dogs...the back seat drops down in our dodge and all 3 dogs lay down back there...but not Maggie...she has to put her head between us and look out the windshield. We finally figured out that she loves to see cows or horses

They always liked to lay by my feet when I was on the computer but since we moved they like to lay out in T V room and watch T V on the couch or in a chair...their favorite place to lay is in my recliner

This is the paper mache box that I worked so hard to decorate and Maggie thought it would be good to chew on

These were some cute cups that I made into pin cushions

This was all my craft magazines that I had under the coffee table on the shelf...Of course I scolded them so they decided they better lay down and stay out of my way for a while

The whole Den was full of ripped magazines...they have helped me down size a lot.

Even when they lay on the floor in the same room they have to be close

I bought this crate for Maggie but Calli does not like to be alone

Maggie is about 70 pounds now and Calli is about 64 pounds and they still think they are little lap puppies

Doesn't this naughty dog just look so sweet. I Love her any how and she is a very Loyal and Loving Dog. When ever she does something naughty I just remember all the pain she went through with heart worm treatments and she is just a very special Maggie..It's like my one friend says...You have 3 dogs...and Maggie

The funny thing is that ever since we moved back to IL and in this house she is a lot better...just still likes to sneak food and eat paper :)

Maggie and Calli will be 2 years old on April 21st..we will see if it is true about them behaving much better when they are 2

SUCH A GREAT LADY

2011-03-31T16:20:00.003-05:00

We meet some wonderful people in the funniest ways. I had a lady "Leslie" find my selling blog in a google search and she ordered a special size Dog Bed / Mat for her youngest Boy Dog named Beacon....Isn't he just the sweetest dog ever. Leslie has been a trainer and has been showing Dogs for many years and was an excellent source of information and very patient with answering all my Dog questions (you all know how much I love my Dogs) She also fosters Golden Retrievers. and she raises her dogs as naturally and chemically free as possible. Her new Boy still sleeps in his crate and I hope he will love the special bed I made for him. Dezi sleeps with her (as do my dogs) and I just sleep better when my dogs are right there by my side :). Some of the best information she gave me was about a tag that hangs on your dogs collar (or other pets or animals) and it repels fleas and ticks for 4 months. I am for sure going to be buying 4 of them since we keep finding ticks mostly on Bianca and Annie. I just can't believe what a friend she already is and I sure wish she lived closer...I love people that are posessed with loving their fur babies like I do This is a few pictures of Leslie and Dezi in a dog show / competition...I wish my dogs would just stand next to me like Dezi stands by her. She is doing a little research for me on finding a better vet near me since the one we have been going to here is not a animal lover like I expect a vet to be...Just a job for them and I can't deal with that. Thank you Leslie for coming into my life and helping me with better care for my furbabies :)

A NEW EXPERENCE AND FUN

2011-03-25T20:11:00.017-05:00

My friend Joann came down from up North (240 miles) on Monday night and we spent all day Tuesday and Wed until about 4 P M printing fabric and trying different techniques, These are just some of the samples we made to see how different things work. We used paint pigment which is a lot more expensive that paints or dye. It will NOT come out or bleed. These are just a few of our supplies. We had such perfect weather...about 75 degrees and sun shining. Right after we put things away the wind started blowing and it started cooling off. Then when she left she hit rain all the way home and when she pulled in her driveway there was 1/2" of snow. Was that just a coincidence or do you think someone was watching over us and knew how far she drove.

We had a lot of fun trying different techniques and I still have about a dozen pieces of fabric that has to sit for 10 days and then has to be scrubbed. I will show that in another post. Below you will see just some of the things we did and they all look better in person than they do in the pictures.

we used all different kinds of tools and brushes

We even used salt and other images
I think this green one turned out pretty neat

And this one is really different

I kind of like this one too...love the way the colors blended

I keep trying to think of different things I could make with our samples

Some of them surprize you and are very different when done than what you thought they would be

This one kind of reminds me of a rainbow

What would you make with this piece?

This one was folded many times before painting..not sure if I like it a lot

I think this one is kind of unique

I guess you can tell I like the orange ones the most

I don't even remember what I did to this one but it is different

Please leave me a comment if you have time and tell me what you think and which one is your favorite if you have one.

PUPCAKES

2011-03-14T14:37:00.006-05:00

My friend bought me a subscription to Rachael Ray magazine and I don't really care for her recipes and never have all the ingredients on hand but since it comes in the mail I look through it.
The last issue had a really good recipe for Peanut Butter / Banana cupcakes for your Furbabies ....It is very simple and humans could eat it if they want to. My Dogs LOVE them and we give them each 1/2 at a time as a treat I couldn't get a real good picture of the pups getting their pup cake...they can never hold still for more than 3 seconds (unless they are taking a nap)

Bianca and Annie Love them too but don't grab like Maggie and Calli...they have better manners

We can't go in the kitchen without them following us thinking they will get another treat :)

The recipe is very simple and they are kind of moist inside because of the bananas...Here is the recipe if anyone wants to treat their fur babies

Springtime Muffins

Makes 24...Prep 15 min...Bake 30 min

1 egg

2 tablespoons honey

2 bananas, mashed with a fork

1/4 cup peanut butter

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

preheat oven to 350, In a bowl,whisk together the egg,honey,bananas. and peanut butter. Stir in 3 cups water, whisk until smooth.

In a seperate bowl, stir together the flour,baking powder and cinnamon; add to the egg mixture.

Spray two 12 cup muffin pans with cooking spray (I used the cupcake paper liners) fill each cup three-quarters full. Bake until browned, about 30 minutes.

Note says (Freeze and thaw as needed)

Hope your fur babies like them as much as mine do :)

EASTER IS COMING SOON..CHECK THIS OUT

2011-03-09T19:25:00.004-06:00

I just listed these 2 Easter Baskets in my selling blog..Just click on the link to go there and see more pictures too :) I will be back in a few days with some more groupings so come back often :)