Saturday, November 26, 2011

Had Great Day.


We spent Thanksgiving with our son, his beautiful wife, her parents and of course grand dog Beamer(named after VaTech coach of course). Was a lovely day!


I had cooked the ham on Wed. so DH was giving some slicing 101 classes to Son.


Beamer is so wishing Grandpop will drop it!!!!
Is that not a pup doll face!!!


Table was all set with the napkins I had made for her along with the thrifted tablecloth.
Fit their big table and worked out great!

DH also brought along his dough for rolls.
Sweet DIL and Son did an amazing job on everything else!
Must say DIL is becoming quite the good cook!
Her Mom even had to say she had come a long way from that first Thanksgiving spread!;-)
From the hors d'oeuvres to the dessert and coffee ending of the meal, all was yummy!
We all left full of food and thankfulness of having loving family to be with on such a
special day.
I have to say I was feeling a bit sad that we could not be with the other children as well.
Such is life though with so many family members living so far away.
Times are tight on families too with gas prices and airline tickets costing so much.
Have to be grateful for the ways we can be connected!
Cell phones, face book and emails!
Yes they are blessings too!!!

DH is off today doing some shopping.
I am at home trying to do some things as well.
Will be Christmas before we all know it!!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving


May your day be filled with loving memories from the past while making new ones in the present.

Wishing everyone a wonderful day filled with family, love and many blessings, big or small.

I extend this wish to all my readers whether you are celebrating the US Thanksgiving or not!;-)

Take care,

Lola



Have posted some home Fall décor pics on my other blog.

Better late than never!

Last of summer...

What you are asking?? Summer??

In newsprint??? Yeah right!

See! Last of Summer's red goodness!
We took the last green tomatoes, wrapped in newsprint .
Set aside in cool place.
Ripe tomatoes for Thanksgiving!
This is an Aunt Dot trick she shared with me!

Look who is STILL in the house!

Miss Marmalade!
Yes she will whine at door from time to time.
For a cat that did not want to stay inside she has settled in nicely!
Better inside away from the big eagles, owls, fox, coyotes and other things that are hanging round here these days!
Now her and Miss Cocoa are never going to be best buds.
They can be in same room now without so many hissy fits!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Well Well...

Some sewing FINALLY got done around here!!
Simple enough but was great practice for using the left leg!
Made napkins for my daughter-in-law.

The fabrics go so well with this pretty linen table cloth.
Was a thrift find from a while back. Have to say think was $1.99!!!
My thinking was niece could use for cross stitch but was too small a weave.
Turns out fits DIL's large table perfect!

This fabric is so very pretty and vintage looking!
Bought it at Hancock's.
They had 60%-70% off on holiday fabs a couple weeks ago.

Nice Fall ones as well.
Have that same light color green as in the linen!
Was meant to be! ;-)

Rewarded myself with a mug of Earl Grey, toasted (DH made) beer bread with peanut butter!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Stop on way home...


I saw this thrift store was open so pulled in.
All proceeds go to the county animal shelter.
It is not open all the time so I seldom catch it.
This is an old Smithfield gas station that became a seafood shop now a thrift store!!

Bought these 2 tablecloths for 8 bucks! Nice dark red color.
One fits our harvest table perfectly.
Not sure what I will do with the second one.
It is long! May do some window valances with it.

These six plates came home with me too!!
75 cents a piece!
Nice creamy color and that vintage red!

I am thinking diner or hotel plates but they sure have not seen much service.
Not any fork marks or chips.

Homer Laughlin Best China USA.
I plan to use these some with my green Homestead China for Christmas.
Check out post on my other blog, Cedar Cottage Farm for more plate love.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Drive Home Part Two


Crossing Stallings Creek. Beautiful Cypress trees.


Favorite play ground for squirrels!

Soybeans ready to harvest.
They are now all picked and Winter Wheat has been planted.


Coming round the bend.


This is the Olde Mill Bridge.

These trees went down in last storm.
Hard to believe it was underwater not to long ago!
Still one of my most favorite scenes in Fall and on a snowy Winter day.

Up the hill. Almost home now!

There we are up ahead on the right!
Today we have wind, rain and cold temps back again!
More like Winter than Fall!

I also made a stop on my drive home.
Will share that tomorrow!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Drive Home Part One

The drive into town was an early one and quite foggy .
So no pics . Decided to take some on way back home.








All the above were on the by pass around Smithfield, VA.

As I have stated before we do live a ways out of town in the country.





This is one of the older homes I pass.

Pretty changing colors against the green of the Pines and Cedars.



Most all cotton has been picked and those fields sown with winter wheat.


Lots of twists and turns!


Getting ready to cross Stalling's Creek here.
Was so dry not long ago , not now.

Will post Part Two in next post!
So many pics. Did not wish to over load!! ;-)

I do enjoy the drive when it is so pretty and I am not rushed!
Now when we have ice and snow it is pretty but would rather just stay home!!
Hope you have enjoyed the ride so far!!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Weekend Past

This past weekend we celebrated my birthday.
Had a wonderful day Saturday, the actual day, with DH.
He fixed one of my favs for supper, fried oysters!


Also hush puppies, cole slaw and baked fries.


As a special treat he made something unique, marshmallows!


They are yummy and do taste so much better than the store bought ones!


Sunday the kids came over.

DH cooked another one of his specialties.
Like a Mexican Lasagna.
This was before baked.
Serve with chopped lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.
Must have not got a pic of after!
He made a dump cake for dessert.
Was a grand day spent with family!

Kindle gift card! So must decide on some books!

This wonderful scented candle came from the folks in NC!

Smells like butter cream frosting!
Also in package was 2 books. Some fun reads.
All in all an enjoyable couple days spent with loved ones in person and those close in loving thoughts.

Been a busy week here with med/dental appointments and other goings on.
We went to vote Tuesday. So up early to go with DH at 6AM to do that.
Had a prob with a machine but ended up using the old fashioned paper ballets!
Sometimes pays to have a back up plan!

I do hope to be sewing again real soon!
Miss it.
Want to make a few simple things for Christmas gifts.
I do love an old fashioned Homemade Christmas!

Still loving my Fall decor here.
We have enjoyed it! Have had fun hosting some Fall meals with family.
Will be planning the switch to Christmas soon!
The cooler temps we have had made it fun to plan for a Winter holiday.
Was even humming Christmas tunes!
Not around DH though. He would think I was pushing it a bit!!;-)
Watched some holiday movies on Hallmark Channel too!
Love Christmas movies and books!

We are off later today to look at front doors .
Also make order for carpet.
Sunshine and cool temps. Tad windy though.
To be back warm again for weekend and in 70's next week!!
Up and down the temps go!

Should be a pretty drive to Suffolk with all the Fall colors aglow!!
Will share my drive home yesterday with you one day this weekend .
Was beautiful!
Made a fun stop at a neat thrift store!


Take care all... have a grand weekend doing what makes you happy!!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Old Sayings and some chuckles!


============== Some valuable, little known educational facts ===================

Did you know the saying "God willing and the Creeks don't rise" was in reference to the Creek Indians and not a body of water? It was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. He was a politician and Indian diplomat. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. In his response, he was said to write, "God willing and the Creeks don't rise.." Because he capitalized the word "Creeks" it is deduced that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water.

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In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.' (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)

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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig.. ' Today we often use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.

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In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The 'head of the household' always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the 'chair man.' Today in business, we use the expression or title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of the Board.'

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Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, 'mind your own bee's wax.' Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term 'crack a smile'. In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . Therefore, the expression 'losing face.'

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Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in 'straight laced' wore a tightly tied lace.

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Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the 'Ace of Spades..' To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't 'playing with a full deck.'

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Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to 'go sip some Ale and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. 'You go sip here' and 'You go sip there.' The two words 'go sip' were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term 'gossip.'

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At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A barmaid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in 'pints' and who was drinking in 'quarts,' hence the phrase 'minding your 'P's and Q's'.

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One more: bet you didn't know this! In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a 'Monkey' with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make 'Brass Monkeys.' Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey; Thus, it was quite literally, 'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.' (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)