Fall Fun

I love fall! The leaves haven't fallen much yet but its the thing I remember most about fall. As a kid I used to make forts with my friends at school with the leaves on the playground. Also it was fun to try to burn them with a magnifying glass.....safely, of course.

Jennifer and Daniel liked their leaf playing too......as you can see in the picture above.

Nowadays what I see in the yard full of leaves is WORK. Our big leaf maple puts down a ton and it takes quite a while for hubby and I to rake them all. Isn't it funny how many childhood things we loved are work for us now as adults? :)

Extra Love

Yesterday we went to Starbucks for lattes. When we are out doing errands and notice our sons car (he works at Starbucks) we like to go in for drinks so we can bug him. :) I ordered my normal drink (short latte) and hubby his (tall vanilla) but this time hubby yells out "I want mine made with EXTRA LOVE"! Our son was on the bar....hubby got the appropriate eye roll and smile from him......and the sweet girl taking our order even wrote our custom order on the cup......and that made me smile! Oh the little things in life.

Feet Friday

I have recently seen ads for this group in a couple of magazines I get. Looks like a neat charity.....and perfect for Feet Friday! You can check out what they do, where they do it and how you can help at their web site: Shoes for Orphan Souls.

Eye Candy

Uh huh. :)

But wait....that's not what I meant.

This is more like it:

Tink brought me back this nummy collection of fat quarters as a thank you for watching her dog. They are from The Stitchin' Post quilt store and are a Valorie Wells line....don't know the name of the line, though. Can't wait till for the perfect project to use them in......until then I'll just fondle them. Hee, hee.

Feet Friday

Oh to be flexible again! :)

Mary in a bathtub

“M in a B” - that’s what it’s known as to our family.

Years ago when we traveled to upstate New York to take our kids to the family camp for the first time, they encountered their first sight of shrines to Mary in people’s front yards. There were several on our drive. Some elaborate, some plain and simple. But our favorites were when Mary was in a bathtub! Folks would take a cast iron tub, bury it part way and place Mary inside. Clever.

After seeing the first one the kids and hubby stayed busy looking for more. It was fun and not something they had seen here in WA. I have fond memories of seeing the shrines as a child growing up back East.

We returned to NY two more times in the following years and found that many of the Mary’s were gone and only a couple of “M in a B’s” were left. So disappointing. Then two summers ago, when hubby and I went to NY (no kids) we saw only one shrine and only one “M in a B”…..the one in Owls Head that has been there each and every time but is now in dire need of a makeover!

These Mary's have a following besides our family! :) Check out this blog: "Bathtub Mary" or read more on Wikipedia. You can google "bathtub Mary" images and see all kinds.

Patting Myself on the Back

I did it.....I've blogged for a whole year! Woo hoo! Today is my blogs birthday. And I have to say it's just as fun today as it was at the beginning.

Pat, pat, pat! :)

Devils Spit

Today was lunch with my fellow Red Hatters at Famous Daves. Love my lunches as I usually get to try out new restaurants and today was no exception.

This bottle was on the table. Appropriate name for a hot sauce but I couldn't get passed the "disgusto" factor that the name implies. Who wants spit on their food? Ewww!

I chose one called Rich & Sassy....better mental picture! LOL!

Oh...the lunch was nummy. Smoked meat...this girl loves her smoked meats.

Bacon

I love bacon. It's just a fact. I'd eat it every day if I could. I love the stuff.
I have always joked that everything is good with bacon. The sentiment was even confirmed in an episode of "Best Thing I Ever Ate - Bacon" on the food network. One item from the episode even combined bacon with another of my favorite eats - doughnuts! It was a Bacon Apple Maple Donut from Dynamo Donuts in San Francisco. I am so going to San Fran, now. :)

Sooooo...imagine my surprise today at Central Market while Tink and I were shopping for some nummies for our afternoon pool party with the Yaya's.....when I spotted this:

Oh yeah....a chocolate bar with BACON! No kidding. And this was no ordinary Hershey's chocolate. Oh no, its an $8 chocolate bar.....very upscale, indeed. Luckily they had little sample bars......half an ounce....for a little better price.

I *had* to buy one.

I had to know -- is everything better with BACON????

Well, is it??????

NO! It is not. Bleck, ick, yuck. Thank the good Lord above I didn't buy the bigger bar.

So, maybe I don't need to go to San Francisco after all.

Feet Friday and Happy Anniversary to Us!

Last day at the lake and our 29th wedding anniversary!

Packaging Funny

While out doing last minute shopping for our lake vacation we decided to pick up some cheap beach balls at Target for the grandsons. Just a buck...why not.

One look at the packaging and I knew I'd be blogging. ;)

Say what?

Ha, ha, ha.......so cracked us up!

Feet Friday

Just for fun!

Sickness Steals Surprise

I have this cute church birdhouse that Tink gave me years ago that I keep on a small table in my dining room area. It's one item I don't remove anymore when I child proof before the grand kids come over. Not because I don't care if it gets ruined....but because of what it contained after one visit a couple of years ago when I forgot to put it up.

There is a little door on the back......and we discovered this:

Such a fun surprise! Liam is consistent each and every visit to park his cars in here......only this last weekend my little jewel was sick during his visit and stayed in bed. Boo hoo. We missed our surprise........that's not so surprising anymore. :)
Next time.

Wedding Bells

You know the old saying, "A daughter's a daughter all of her life, a son's a son until he takes him a wife"? It's one I believe is true most of the time. I used to hope (and even pray on occasion) that Dan would marry an orphan so she'd not have a family to pull him away to! ;) As it turns out, I needn't have worried. Yesterday our son got married and we have not lost a son but gained another daughter.....and no, she's not an orphan! :)

Here's Hubby with Dan on his cell wondering where the bride was and what was holding things up. He was anxious to get things moving!

Me with the groom.

The beautiful bride, Faith, walking down to the gazebo with her dear friend Colette. You can see the smile on her face as she spots her man.

Dan wanted a private ceremony....he would have preferred no one be there but we managed to shame him into a couple of people. Poor boy gets nervous having to speak in front of anyone! Sigh.

Here are the happy couple listening to Joe....right before the vows.

Faith is getting ready to put Dan's ring on. The picture of Dan putting her ring on didn't turn out very well.

I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Jandt.

Love this shot of them. So sweet.

Happy day!

P.S. You can read a funny blog here by a very determined best friend who decided she wasn't gonna miss this event even if Dan wanted it private!

Feet Friday

Baby feet never get old to ooooh and aaaah over! So adorable....just wanna kiss 'em!

Quilt Artist

The Kitsap Arts & Crafts Fair was held in Kingston this year and I had the privilege of getting to work in the quilt shop today during the event. The shop featured the work of quilt artist, Cynthia Keim. I've seen Cynthia's work before and have always been awestruck at what she accomplishes. But seeing so many of her pieces hanging together was truly a treat. I didn't get to take too many pictures because my camera's battery died. Dang! But here are the few I managed to get. I also forgot to write down the quilt names....so sorry!

I love the use of tucks to give movement.

The ocean waves move due to doing tucks! I also love how she achieved the look of rain with metallic thread and beads.

Close-up of those tucks:

I've made a "Strips-n-Curves" quilt before but what I liked was Cynthia's creative curvy borders.

How I wish my battery hadn't died. Her most amazing quilts, i.m.o., were the ones I didn't get pics of!

Will the joys of my new job ever end? I don't think so! :)

Feet Friday

Vacation feet.....enjoying the sunshine and the warm sand!

Surprise Vacation

Nothings more fun than a vacation......except maybe planning and pulling off a surprise one! :)

Which is what I did for my hubby's birthday this year. I managed to keep him in the dark about where we were going and what we'd be doing! Woo hoo!

Our destination was Portland.....for their International Beer Festival. My man loves his brews and I knew he'd enjoy a time of sampling. They gave you these little glasses and 15 tickets. Since I hate the stuff (though, I did try some...really I did....still icky!) he got my tickets. Then you go about sampling from over a hundred different beers. I stuck with water.....and eating.....and watching thousands of people. It was like being in a very huge bar.

After a couple of days in Portland we took off for the Oregon coast. Dennis hadn't been there since he was 10 and I never had. We stopped at Fort Clatsop for a little history. Then Seaside for time in the sun. I can't believe how few people were on the beach.


This was our B&B for our coast time. The Arch Cape Inn. Our room was at the top of that round tower. This is a beautiful place...with wonderful service....and incredible gourmet food. We weren't on the beach but we could see it from our room and it was just a 3 minute walk.

Cannon Beach icon. Another nice day for shopping and beach walking.
There were lots of birds nesting on the rocks...even Puffins (which we didn't see).



Hiking in Ecola State Park. Loved this place. I could have stayed here all day.

We headed to Tillamook for the day. Had to tour the factory, of course. Then spent time in Oceanside and went to the Cape Meares Lighthouse.

The Oregon Coast is on our list of places to revisit.....even Portland. We had a great time and were sorry to see it end. Hummmm......wonder where I want to plan a surprise for next?

ABC Wednesday

Z is for Zumba

Tink and I took a Zumba class last year at a Red Hat convention....which means it was beginner....and geared towards those over 50.....which we are not....over 50 I mean. Zumba is an aerobic exercise that uses Latin dance moves to keep it fun and energetic. And energetic is an understatement. I was sweating and tired by the end.....of the beginner class for over 50's! LOL! But it was a blast and I loved it. They do offer some Zumba classes in my area but it cost more than I wanted to pay to exercise. Another one of those "some day" things in my brain.

Round 4 of ABC Wednesday is over. I won't be doing another round but if you want to keep up with others who are or join yourself, keep a watch at the ABC Wednesday site.

Impulse Buying

This was today's impulse buy at Costco! I've actually wanted a Wii for a few months now. What I really want is the Wii Fitness....particularly so I can try the yoga part. But you can't use the Fitness without the regular console. And since it's a costly toy....its the console first and later the Fitness part. At Costco the console is bundled with Sports. Hubby and I had fun bowling (I kicked his you know what!) and playing tennis (which we both sucked at). Then I worked in the training mode at tennis and boxing....worked up a sweat. Then we tried the "fitness" part of Sports....they test you in three sports to see your Wii age. I was 68, hubby was 54! Ha, ha, ha. Guess what I'll be working on? Can't let him win! ;)

Feet Friday

My fellow Leavenworth quilt retreaters graciously let me take a picture of their feet for my blog. Thanks ladies! And thanks Mary for reminding me!

ABC Wednesday

Y is for Yoga


A couple years ago when Tink and I were working out at a local gym we decided to try the yoga class they offered. Figured it would be good to get some flexibility in this aging body. Man oh man was it hard! The first class totally kicked my a**! We were brave and kept going back, determined to get better. I bought a book to practice at home. Bought a couple of DVD’s for the same purpose. The gym ended up changing the time of the class to evenings and I hate going out at night……..and don’t need much of an excuse to not exercise…….so that was the end of yoga classes for me.

I tried to continue working out at home with my favorite yoga DVD called “Yoga Prayer” but I’m just not disciplined enough. I’d put the tape in and end up just listening to the pretty background music! Tried again when my doctor told me to take up yoga or Pilates for my back (I have scoliosis)…..but problem was I am still me…no discipline. So maybe one day I’ll find the perfect class, at the perfect time, for the perfect cost and be able to take up yoga once again.

Round 4 of ABC Wednesday is just about over, be sure to check out more Y entries.

Design Wall Monday - Faiths Quilt

Judy Laquidara over at Patchwork Times does a meme called "What's on your design wall" every Monday. I think its been going on for 6 weeks or so. It's not a good meme for me since my design wall doesn't change weekly....or monthly.....and some times not for a very long time! But I just put up these blocks...aren't they happy fabrics and oh so summery? I thought it would be a bit of
shamingaccountability for me to share it with you and then see how long I procrastinate at finishing. LOL!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I know its a bit self-serving to write a post about ones own birthday....but I thought my family would enjoy seeing some old pictures. :)

48 years ago...cute as a button with a great smile, if I say so myself:

This is me at 5. Wassup with the hair, Mom? Such grownup hair on a five year old. :) I remember very fondly getting to have my hair up in curlers. I would have had my Mom do it every night if I could have convinced her. Dunno what's with the fake smile....must not have liked the photographer.

This is my 7th birthday....with my precious presents. See that tiny cash register on the left? That's a bank and I still have it. I loved putting coins in that thing and pushing the lever down and seeing my new total. The bank would only open at $10 increments. So sometimes when I wanted the money badly my parents would have to put quarters in till it hit $10. It sits empty of money now...on our dresser...but full of memories.


This is me on my 9th birthday. And this really is how I remember birthdays......on vacation. The trouble with a July 2 birthday is vacation time! Seems like we were always on vacation when my birthday hit....which meant no big parties with all your school friends and all those presents they'd bring. I would be so jealous of my brother (October baby) who'd have his whole class over. Poor me! LOL!
Looks like I may have started my love of purses at this age.

Time to dig out some more pictures and reminisce.

ABC Wednesday

X is for Xylophone

I think this is one of only two "x" words I could think of.....x-ray being the other.....and this one actually is a hobby for some! While we all played with a xylophone as a toy as a toddler no one in our family continued or even dabbled with this instrument as a hobby....thus I really don't have much to say about it. Hee, hee.

Check other blogs to see what folks came up with for X.