Just For Fun GIVE AWAY!!

Is this bag not a hoot???? HA!!!!
I had two ham bags I washed up ,pressed and then decided to make these bags!!
I am calling them Ham Bone Bags! ;-)

I think they will be fun to use come yard sale, flea market season!!
Can carry your cash, a price guide, tape measure, note book and a bottle of water!!
Shoot stop by Hardee's for a Ham Biscuit too... Ha!!!

They are lined with a blue old lookin print and I used a thin batting to give them a lil more body.
Has a double pocket inside.
Nice size strap, also batting lined so should be easy on the shoulder.
Used some red thread to give them a lil pizzazz, also added the old buttons on sides of handles on top cuff.
DH said would make a neat Cook's Christmas Stocking !!Haa!!!

Hey gift bag or lunch bag idea too....something fun, now come on it is really not that WEIRD!! ;-)

Now the fun part!! GIVE AWAY TIME!
I am going to give this one pictured to some lucky person who comments to this post on my blog this week!!
Will get DH to pick a # between 1 and how ever many comments there are on Friday and that person who is that # comment wins!!!
No catch just a fun thing.
Just giving away the one... I am keeping other one for ME! ;-)

I know I have the readers so come on , post and see if you are FEELIN LUCKY!!!

More Rain

Yes we have been blessed with more rain then we saw yesterday.
It came down all day in a nice slow steady rate.
A good soaking rain they call it.
About 1/2 inch or lil more.
Now this Sunday AM started off with some sleet mixed in..whew!
That went by quickly though and we warmed up some.
Stayed in high 40s most of day.
Was a good stay inside and do stuff day...which I did.
I cooked our dinner then sewed most of the day till late.

Here is a couple things I made up.
Shopping bags from an old table cloth.

I took an old yellow and white linen tablecloth that had some stains, a few small holes to make up some simple shopping bags.
I did not measure first but was a smaller one for a kitchen table not dining one.
I experimented with them sewing different ways to come up with best way for me.
They have squared bottoms, straps go all-round for more support.
I got two good size bags and a small fold up one out of this one.
The fold up one can be the one to hold the cold milk or other in the bags!
I can shop for us with these bags plus 2 other ones I have already with no problem.
If get dirty just wash and go again!
Look out grocery stores here comes the Bag Lady! Ha!!

Will be makin more now with some other old cloths, more colorful ones!
I have some I have picked up at sales and such.

Like these ones here I used at old cottage.

Did a couple other ones just for FUN...a hoot really.
Keep eye on blog for an announcement about one of them in next few days!!! ;-)

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Rain

Rain....we are receiving a few drops. Yes just what I said a few drops.
Maybe it will be enough to get the new plants through another windy dry week. We sure hope so. Course the day is far from over so maybe we may end up getting a lil bit more rain by days end.
So yes today is a dark gray day but I must not allow that to bother me as the up side is the rain.
I have realized as I have gotten older that the gray days really do get me down. I have to struggle to stay UP on those days!
I may have to run around (only figuratively speakin) and replace all the lights with those day light ones to see if that will help!
Course all this will change when heat of summer hits and I DO WANT to shade the house...go figure.
It won't bother me then only thing on my mind will be staying cool! Haaa!
Are we not rather complex creatures or at least the few in my club!!!

Mama's Birthday Today

Today would have been my Mama's 88th BD.
She would have said she was 88 years young as that is how she thought of herself.
Never as an older person, in her mind she was still young but stuck in an older body!! ;-)
I hope I can learn to age gracefully as she did and to make my life as meaningful as hers was.
Everyday to her was a bright shinny new one to enjoy to the fullest no matter the struggle.
She is and will always be my shining light , the best example of how to be a wonderful, loving, caring and forgiving person.
I am sure she is having a wonderful time on her special day in heaven and all the other angels are singing to her.
I hope she still knows how much we love her and miss her.... always will.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!!!
Love always ,
Your baby gal!!!

Room Makeover

Room Makeover

Is this not a cute room??
Well it belongs to a little cutie named Erica! She is one of our grand nieces.
Hard to believe she will be five next month!!
She decided she wanted her room repainted so got her Mom to 'help her' do it.
Yes she is an 'experienced' painter. ....this is not 'pretend to paint'!
It is in her blood, really, as her Mom repaints 'regularly'! Ha!!!

She decided on her colors and how she wanted things to be.
May have to 'book' Miss Erica next time I get ready to put some fresh color on these walls here!!
She is also quite handy in the kitchen as well. Her Grammy Viv is seeing to that.
I am thinkin add a law degree to her name, Miss Erica , Esq. and she will make a great catch for some lucky fella a few years down the road!!

Easter Sunday and week report...

Easter Sunday was a fun day. All preparations were worth it.
We had family in to eat and visit. Everyone brought something so was plenty of food and no one should have left hungry!
Also managed to get everyone seated at same time. Did two tables but worked out...Wonderful!!

Used my vintage Wedgewood china as the colors were so SPRIING!
House was all festive with Spring/ Easter decor, sun was shining ,not real cold. Beautiful day.

I also received a cute 'Easter Basket'...it held a 'needle roll' ....so pretty!
Now I have 2...working my wish list up to 12, ya know one for every month!
Just took a liken to those lil things for some reason!
Course it helps to have someone sweet who can cross stitch really well to do them for ya!;-)
I put my 'basket' to use later as a holder of turkey salad is that not the cutest thing!!!!!
Thanks so much Paul, Diana and Hollyanne!!!!

Sadly Sunday evening I begin to feel bad and by Monday CREEPIN CRUDE had set in.
Down but not out that is me.
Better each day but the pollen in the air is not helping at all.
I am sure that will only get worse.
I have decided that when I take the dog out for a walk I need to cover my face. I use a bandana.
Can only imagine what folks passing think ,but so far no cops have showed up with a report of a 'masked person' in the area!! Ha!!

As I have not felt well have not had a real productive week.
I did finish up a BD gift I had started. Will share that AFTER the recipient receives it. ;-)
I also am late mailing out other gifts. But hey we do what we can.
Better late then never as the old sayin goes.

DH has tilled up the lil garden area. He has planted some things already as last frost date for us has passed.
He has in broccoli, cabbage some lettuce, Hanover salad greens, spring onions.
Need rain though or it all will just sit there.
We are still in drought here.
My brother in AR would love to share some of their rain with us if he could.

Well hope you enjoyed the 'weekly' report as daily just does not fit into my life at the moment.

Stay tuned though for a special report to follow on a very 'tiny house painter'...;-)

Whew..been busy!

Whew...been a busy time for me last few days!!
From Friday on through yesterday, Monday!!!
Now home today for catch up time.. ugh! Never happen, not at this home, not me! HA!!
Had fun at the craft show in Richmond Saturday. Saw so many neat things , really lovely things and from such talented artists. Most high dollar things but well worth the money.
We bought some yummy cookies to snack on and people watch some...that is always such fun.
Bought DH a bird house for his BD, rather neat one made from bird seed. Cool.
I also purchased a dress for my beach trip made from such lovely African batiks, turquoise blue and purple.. delish!!
Met up with some lovely gals there Shirl and Mary Jane and had a fun chatty lunch!!
Day was nice too.. warm and sunshine.
Trip up and back was uneventful which is always so nice!!
Traffic was not too bad on I -95...;-)
Next show is in Nov so we may just have to do it all again come Fall which works out well as my BD is in Nov! YES! ;-)

St Paddy Day is over. We had our green on, hung the flags and had corned beef, cabbage & taters for supper.
So that means corned beef & Swiss sammies today for lunch YUMMY!!

Now to get ready for the Big Easter Day Feed!!
Have a ham to cut hock off of and soak.
Then will cook ahead.
Have turkey breast to thaw out, for preparing also.
All the family have their 'cookin missions' to complete and bring along with them Sunday...;-)
No one should have any reason to leave here hungry that is for sure!

This will be last indoor celebration for a while as warm weather will be here for next ones... YEAH US!!
Will be grill'in and chill'in then!!! At the beach some too! YES!
Also DH will be doing his FAMOUS SMOK'IN BUTTS soon !!!
Put up the tent and set out the 'sides'... BBQ on all the plates!! Desserts galore!!
All the Ma and Pa's, Aunts & Uncs, Cuzs, all the in- laws and out -laws will rub elbows once again at the family gathering!!
Don't ya just love summer time!!!!

POP!! Oh well back to real time an this cold which hope will pass by Sunday or the Easter Bunny may get a lil frosty chill on his cotton tail!!!

Lot Done

I got a lot done yesterday..... or at least for me.
I know my 'old self' could work circles around the 'today me'... sad but true.
Hard to except that some times. Must just push on!!

Anyway, finished up a sewing project for a cross stitcher gal.
Sewed up her some ornies . Think they came out really nice.
Her work is really lovely so did not want to take away from that.
This is a series she is doing in the 2 different linens.
I kept the backing fabric, cording and hanger thread all back to use for the rest of them when they are ready to sew up.

I also worked on some St. Patrick Day things.
Had some simple patch runners ready to batt and back.
Sewed one up for sofa chest. Have a couple more to do... one for dining table.. other for a pal.
Also made a simple fabric flag for my mail box. I mean it is not like it is going to hang there forever!
Need to do an Easter one up today.
After all it is right here too!! WHEW!

Have some old table clothes to wash today.
These are going to be cut to be shopping bags.
I will line mine with simple washed muslin.
Soon NO PLASTIC bags will be the law here in our county.
I have been planning on doing this for a while anyway. Nice way to use the old stained ones.
Use my canvas ones , the freebies, for small trips, needed these for the big shopping days! HA!!
In the RV we have some an also the lil shopping cart for using at the markets we stop at.
We do recycle the plastic ones too .... poop scoops, trash can liners, etc.
Sadly here we seem to have a big bunch of litter bugs. They just allow the bags to blow all over.
When they end up in the cotton can ruin it, but also kills wild life in our water ways.
Anyway as always you have those that spoil it for others.

Hope to pick more flowers on my walk later today, if not raining.
DH cut grass this past Monday , first cut of the season.
Well mostly wild onions but looks great.
Smelled good too!!
We will be making visits to the garden center soon.
Love doing that even if we don't buy anything!!
Do have some plans for a bed we want to do so will look for plants for that.
May be pulling out the old boxwoods and putting in new .
This will be after we finish the painting on trim.
Always something to do when you have a house!!

The Weekend

I made a 'tulip' bag this past week./weekend.
It is called this as a reference to the shape of the pieces you sew up.

Cut 4 pieces shaped like a V/U..haa!
Do outside and inside lining same way.
I used the stiff interfacing on the outside and the iron on batting on the lining.
Gives it good body. I made this one for some one special to carry to work and use for lunch.
She can also use as a purse if she chooses though.
It is a great fabric called Happy Staff from Loralie Designs. I picked it up at the quilt show last month.
One of the nurses on it resembles Jeanette!! So had to have it!!
She and Ken were up from NC this weekend . She loved it!! It is nothing but fun for sure!
Does not take long to do. Will be making some smaller ones for spring for my gals too.

Sadly with Easter coming at me so fast did not have time to do up too much 'Sunday Finery' for the lil ones!!
I have a Birthday Box to mail out to TN ..with Easter candy!!
Speaking of which finding boxes now is becoming a bit of a treasure hunt!!
I wanted to find a nice size one to fit a doll along with a few other things and NOOOO ...all the stores break then down or crush them PDQ for resale or recycling!!
I was not licked though..decided to just repackage the doll and use a smaller box we had on hand!

HDH , and I went along with DS and D DIL to a RV show this weekend.
They were looking for pop up camper till we got there to check them out then decided maybe a small camper trailer may be best for them.
This is why it pays to go check things out for sure.

Was allot of them there to look at as well.
I think they found a couple they liked well enough to maybe see if any used ones, only a few years old, can be found for less.
There were not may Class A's there for us to look at maybe upgrading too...yeah right Ha!!
Think we will stay with this one for a while anyway.
Was some nice 5th wheels there. They are like lil luxury condos on wheels these days!
Course you need a new bigger truck to pull 'em with!!

Saturday we had horrid rain and WIND!!
Seems like house was shaking from it.
We needed rain yes but that wind NO.
We lost phone service for a bit .
Some lost power too. Was some property damage here and there also.

DH spent the day in kitchen, or so it seemed.
Baked a cheese Danish, then did up 2 loves French Bread.
He also did up a batch of jambalaya.
Did not get pics of his weekend dishes this time!!

Sunday we were out before lunch so did not eat again till later.
Had the big Deli Dogs , peppers & onions or cheese and chili with mustard!
Will have to put in some 'rug time' for exersises and walking this week for sure!

Blog Envy

Blog Envy

Man on Man do I have blog envy! I envy the ones that can put new posts up every day!!
I can't seem to do that. ;-(
One would think that as empty nesters here we would have loads of time for such things but alas not. I could stay busy 24 /7 if I choose.
Always things to be done for us and others. Always something happening in the family or with our friends.
Seems after a few days of being very busy running and doing I need a day of down time...ya think it is age related???? Ha!!

Have not had much creative time in last week or more so think I am over due!!
I do have some things I want to finish up in my sewing room and also some gifts I want to make.
I love doing this for my family and pals. Seems to me more from the heart then rushing out and buying something that will just be put away in closet.
I remember when we had to clean out DH's mothers home , she had all these 'gifts' still in the original packaging from BDs and Christmas, never used.
Not that they did not mean anything to her, was just that they were not used. She still loved the giver and was appreciative of the thought.
I sure hope I can give gifts that will be used and they will think of me when they see them or use them.
We also love to cook for our family and friends ..that too says..." Hey you mean the world to us, you are special"...Love in a casserole as Aunt Esther used to say!!
So many ways now to gift a special person, time is still the best one I feel, give of your time. You will remember those forever.

I still have my goals to work on...work room redo and the 'keep moving' promise I made to myself.
Our weather here has interfered with my walks. Maybe today will not be as bad, wind wise.
A pal shared this link with me from the American Heart Asso. It is a free program to help us gals 'keep moving'.
http://www.choosetomove.org/about_choose_to_move/index.html
I know I need all the help I can get to stay on track .
Hard to self motivate at least for me.


Sunshine too means a lot to me...I will go down in the dumps real quick when it is cloudy and rainy!!!
Used to not be a big factor would just keep getting up or see it as a time to cuddle in and just read maybe.
Not now. I think I may have to get me one of these 'sunshine lamps'...;-)
Now saying this we really NEED the rain here still dry and drought but it is okay with me if it all arrives at night!! ;-)
It did that last night and we got some much needed rain almost an inch!!

We have loads of flowers blooming and trees budding out.
I reckon Mother Nature is just keeping up with the early Easter we will have this year!!
Our border beds are not nearly as nice as they once were. We have lost a lot due to not being able to water.
We are also rethinking our veggie garden plans, may do raised beds or pots.
We will soon have to decide on that as well.

DH is planning on pulling out the lawn equipment and getting ready to cut the yard!!
We seem to have a wonderful crop of wild onions this year and had pretty dandelions all winter...go figure!!!

As we always say we have a 'yard not a lawn'...looks good to us so not worried about the 'lawn police'!!!!

Well seems Spring is doing it's best to arrive on time and once again fill us with awe at what Mother Nature can produce!
All we have to do is take the time to look and enjoy!