Sassy & Sweet Notes

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Yup, it's true... not only Mother's Day, but today is Mom's birthday as well!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Wish we could be there with you today to celebrate ... hope you had some cake for us, too!!

Hugs and KISSES,
Alan & Anna

Happy Mother's Day!

Alan and I would like to wish our mothers, as well as all the other mothers out there, a very happy Mother's Day!!

Cluck, cluck!!
*smooches!*

Happy Birthday, Alan!

Wishing my sweetie a very Happy Birthday today!

Happy Birthday to you...
Happy Biiirrrrthday to yooouuuu....
Happy BIRRRRRTHDAAAAAY Dear ALAN...
Happy BIRTHDAY, to YOU!
*Smooches*

(He's gonna be *thrilled* when he sees this photo! Haa!)

Happy Easter!

Alan and I would like to wish all of you a very happy Easter!

howdy!

Sorry for the lack of activity here on the blog this past week. Work has been rather busy, and unfortunately I've been feeling sicky this weekend. Just my luck ... busted a three day weekend feeling blah. But I've got several projects in progress, so hopefully in the next few days I can get some crafty goodness posted. Stay tuned!

In other news, the ladies have been laying pretty eggs for us. Oh, and speaking of ladies, I have a small order (10) of baby chickens arriving next week! Our neighbor and I split an order of chicks, and I can't wait for the little fluff balls to arrive! I ordered a variety of Polish chicks, and some standard sized Cochins. They're going to be so CUTE!!

Alan said he saw a bluebird outside today, and I watched a pair of them flit around in a tree just outside the living room window. Spring must be on her way!

Copic Display Case for Sale

UPDATE: Both cases have been sold and are no longer available.

I have 0 empty new-in-box Copic display case available for purchase, if anyone is interested. Asking $110 with shipping to you included. Shipping to Continental US addresses only.

From the Copic website: Empty display case holds 288 Sketch or Ciao markers, 216 Copic markers or 144 Various Inks. Open area to hold catalogs or literature on the right.  9.25"h x 16"w x 4.25"d  (Retail price on the Copic website for this case is $199.95.)

It is the same display case that I use on my desk, as shown in this photo. Still in original box/bubble wrap from the manufacturer.

On the Pond

I put together this card last night using a cute stamp I got for Christmas. I stamped the image in black ink and fairly quickly colored it with markers. The image is from a 1995 Current stamp of two mice enjoying a day in their boat, on a pond. Works for me! I'll be sending this off as a sweet little THANK YOU, post holidays.

What are your plans for the weekend? I have a to-do list a mile long, but can't decide what I want to do first. So I thought I'd ask you, see what you've got planned, and maybe you'll have better ideas than what's on my list!

Mom's Quilt Studio Progress

Thought I would share the progress of Mom's quilt studio, a room Dad added onto their house for Mom to use for her quilting .... nothing short of amazing. She has her pretty fabric all folded and organized on the shelves. You can see *some* of her finished quilts up on top of the shelves.

The counter, covered with the die cutting machine, dies, stacks of felt for our current holiday crafting projects, as well as other odds and ends that we drug out for crafting. There's also one of Mom's cute little Featherweight machines on the counter, begging to be used (or taken to my house - HA!).

The library, getting organized; the ironing board being used for last minute Christmas gift wrapping.

The machine, extended to the size for quilting a queen sized quilt, and extra machine parts still in boxes on the floor. Extra parts will move into storage areas. In the foreground sits the craft table, soon to be replaced by a larger handmade table that Dad is builiding. The design wall in the background, soon to have cedar wood trim borders; and all the pretty fabric stacked up on the shelves. Oooooh la la!

The loft, ready for storing batting for the centers of the quilts. I think it might make a nice bunk for sleeping visitors. Haaaaa!

*Some* of the Christmas themed quilts out on display. And a pretty wall hanging with deer and birch trees made for Mom by Aunt Patty and Aunt Judy.

Imagine the fun that is to be had in this room!

Cranberry Hootycreek Cookies

I recommend this recipe as one of your holiday treats: Cranberry Hootycreeks

Yummm...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Alan and I want to wish you, and your family, the happiest of Thanksgivings!

Gobble gobble GOBBLE!

Happy Halloweeeeeeen!

Just a quick note to wish you all a safe, festive, happy Halloween!

We don't get trick-or-treaters out at the farm, so it will be a nice quiet evening for Alan and me... unless I decide to pull out the ol' broom and take her for a spin!

*cackle cackle cackle!!*

And I just might!

Image: Witchy Wooo

My Trip to Oregon...

I'm home again after a wonderful trip to Oregon to see my dearest friends.

I had a GREAT time, and it was hard to leave the clean, crisp air of Oregon behind. We spent Saturday at the coast, visiting favorite beaches, and just enjoying the day. The Florence bridge is such a historic place.

And the waterfront in Florence is always busy with local, and visiting, fishermen.

The weather was perfect - we were quite comfortable in just jeans and t-shirts. There were lots of amazing tide pools to explore! They were full of little fish and hermit crabs.

There's really nothing like visiting the Oregon coast. It ranks right up there as one of my favorite places to visit. In the late afternoon, a big fog bank rolled in and covered the beach with a thick, heavy mist so we headed into Yachats for dinner. I had fresh pan fried razor clams, and they were deeee-LISH!

Sunday we went to a local farm to pick up fresh produce and a few pumpkins and gourds for Halloween.

The local produce in Eugene is something to be seen... it's just phenomenal.

Pears, fresh from the trees on the farm. Delicious!

Potatoes so fresh, they still had that wonderful earthy smell to them. Mmmm!

Pumpkins, in all shapes and sizes, ready for carving!

And I couldn't believe the tomatoes. YUM!!

I wanted to take a dozen of these home and roast them right up!

How about some winter squash for long-term storage! Imagine how wonderful these will be mid-winter, when the air is cold... I'd like a dinner invitation, please!

More peppers, and lots of fresh greens...

This display of beans put my garden's bounty to shame!

They had spinach and carrots right next to each other, and they both smelled so good!

There are very large fields full of pumpkins for those who want to take a wagon ride out to the fields, but we opted to stay close to the farm stand where there were lots of pumpkins to choose from.

And where we could have THIS! It was a great ending to a wonderful day at the farm!

Every moment was spent with friends, and I had a wonderful time! I am so grateful for their friendship, and hospitality.

As for me today, I am still sick. Tonight, my temp is up nearly 3*. After literally two days of being in bed, medicated, you'd think I'd be feeling better. But I feel like I've been hit by a bus, and sound even worse! What a dreadful end to a beautiful vacation! *grin*

But we got a little rain this evening, so I can't complain.

I'm sicky...

I'm home again from my trip to Oregon, and I do have some photos I want to share ... but first, I must lay in bed being sicky. Seems a fine case of bronchitis hitched a ride with me, and I've got to be a patient for a while. Thankfully, Alan takes good care of me when I'm sick.

Stay tuned...

I'll be back to my usual self in no time!

Greetings from Oregon!

I made a quick trip out to Oregon to visit my girlfriends for the weekend. I have no doubt I will enjoy every moment! The weekend will be filled with good friends, good food, good music, good coffee, and good FUN!

What's planned?! A day at the beach, shopping at favorite retailers, a trip to our favorite pumpkin patch and local farm, wonderful meals with friends, a night of live music (with favorite local musicians) at a favorite pub, and a few days spent enjoying the lovely Oregon landscape and weather. How refreshing! I only wish Alan was able to come along. He's got life on the farm in the palms of his hands this weekend -- here's hoping all the critters mind their manners for the next couple of days!

So, here is a west coast greeting to ya'll!

And, Alan ... I'm bringing home Oregon chocolate! *grin*

Stamp Salado makes for a fun day!

I met up with a couple of friends today at Stamp Salado, in Salado, Texas. Salado is about a two hours drive south for me, and about 45 minutes north of Austin. Salado is a cute little town filled with great shops and galleries, and is a fun place for a day trip, or weekend get-away.

This was my first visit to the shop in over two years! Too long between visits, if you ask me!

The girls and I had a fun time -- we enjoyed lunch at the Stagecoach Inn, and then spent a couple of hours at Stamp Salado where we all managed to find lots of new treasures to buy. Such a great store!

Enjoy this little "video visit" I put together for you!

As always, you can find this video here on my YouTube Channel.

A Gift from Alan...

Check out the cool birthday gift I received from Alan! It arrived yesterday, and even though I don't celebrate my birthday until the 7th, he let me open the box early. What a fella! *grin* This is an old traveling paint salesman's sample storage box. It has hinges in the center so it folds up like a brief case, with a nice brass handle up top for carrying. There is a label on the bottom "Miller Brothers Tunnelton W. Va  ACME Quality Paint Enamel Stains Varnishes.

Open, it measures about 2.5' x 5', and the compartments are about 3.5" deep. I have it sitting on top of my hosier cabinet.

There are little hand written labels slipped in at the top of each of the compartments. It would seem that the case had been re-purposed by it's previous owner as a display case of sorts, as the names all reference various cities. The compartments are currently configured as 2x2, but the great thing is that they're changeable!

The little dividers slide out with ease, allowing the compartments to be made as little as 1"x2", or 2" x as tall as necessary. The dividers slide into the case at a very slight angle to keep things from rolling out.

Wow....  I think it's just so neat!! Thank you, Alan ... I LOVE it!!

What would YOU store in such a display!?

Waxahachie Texas Chemical Plant Fire

Alan and I want to say THANK YOU for all the emails and calls to see if we're OK, due to the chemical plant fire that took place today in central Texas. It was nice to hear from you all!

The fire was in Waxahachie, Texas; about 25 miles north of our farm. I was just heading out to the post office that's in our little town when I saw the huge, black plume of smoke off in the distance.

I told Alan that something was on fire up north ... a BIG something! Sure enough ... and it was serious! In my rush to get to the post office and back, I didn't even think to grab a photo of my own! So, I'm sharing these from the wfaa.com website.

The smoke blew west from Waxahachie in a massive black cloud. We live due south of the city, so we were not effected by the event, and we didn't notice any smell or smoke throughout the day. I can't even imagine the smell at the scene, the heat, and pure speed of this fire. I hope the responders were extra careful with safety regarding the air quality at the scene. What a day for the responders! One they won't soon forget, I'm sure!

Here are some photo galleries of the event that have some pretty impressive photos...

37 image photo gallery at wfaa.com

17 image photo gallery at wfaa.com

Firetruck Before and After at wfaa.com

The fire department from Ennis, Texas responded, and unfortunately lost their truck in the fire.

Thankfully, no lives were lost. That's a miracle, I think. A blessing.

Wow... what a mess.

Billy The Kid

I was working on my image of Billy the Kid this evening, and thought I'd do a comparison look of the two images ... one with no background to speak of, and one with an inked and stamped background. Pretty neat how a little ink can make such a difference! Oh, I also added a bit more shading to some areas of Billy's vest, chaps, and pant legs in the inked version...

Image colored with markers and colored pencils.

Free Scrap Magazines...

I have the following magazines to give away if anyone wants them. They are in LIKE-NEW condition. Just pay shipping, and they can be yours!

Simple Scrapbooks July/Aug 2008
Creating Keepsakes Aug 2008
Digital Scrapbooking June/July 2008
Digital Scrapbooking Aug/Sept 2008

Take one, take all four.

New Goody!

I ordered a new goody for my desk! Can you pick it out? Click on the photo for a LARGER view...

Not sure what it could be?

All that clutter got you mystified?!

Let me help you out...

I ordered a retail display rack for my markers! I had them stored in different containers previously, but due to their different sizes (some are round, some oval, and some square) and the way that the containers I was using were constructed, I wasn't able to keep the pens in the order I wanted them in.

The way this rack is built, it allows me to mix and match all the various sized pens I have, and keep them in the organized color order that I want! The other items in my area are all sorted by color too, so "order" is kind of an important part of my workflow.

I keep other markers in small drawer units at the back of my workspace, and of course my colored pencils are always front and center within easy reach. I organize most things by ROYGBIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, followed by Neutrals). It works for me.

Oh, and see that cutie of a card there in the front?

I made this for a co-worker this evening. She is a dog trainer in her spare time and she asked me to draw up a graphic for her for her puppy training classes. I turned the original drawing into this little display piece for her desk.

On the back of the piece I created a make-shift easel so it can easily stand on display. For ease of mailing, the lower section of the easel has a little tab that tucks up into the shallow pocket I created at the base of the display.

Am I the first person to dream up such an idea? I hardly think so... but I'm the first one in THIS craft room who has, and that's sayin' something! *grin*

Anyone else craving Fruit Loops?

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Wish we could be with you to celebrate this year! Hope you do something FUN, and eat CAKE!

Hugs & Kisses!

Tattler Re-Usable Canning Lids WINNER!

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments on the Tattler re-usable canning lid post. And extra thanks to those of you who even shared recipes! What a treat!

I posted the salsa article and Tattler give-away info on my GRIT magazine blog as well. To combine all of the comments received in both locations, I pasted everyone's name into a spreadsheet (removed a few duplicates that were posted), and went out to random.org to generate a number.

The random number between 1-113 that was selected was #89.

And I see on my commenter spreadsheet that #89 is Carol Dee!

Carol Dee, please get in touch with me and I will assist with communications with Tattler to get some lids sent out to you.

Tired...

...slept in an extra hour this morning, even took a nap this afternoon. But boy am I TIRED.

I think it's time to call it a day.

Zzzzzz...

I'm Baaaack!

Back from my trip up to northeastern Washington, where I spent a long weekend with Mom and Dad, celebrating Mom's birthday, and helping them with a few things on the construction of the new addition Dad is adding to the house -- a beautiful quilting studio for Mom, a big new pantry, and an enclosed back porch for covered winter wood storage, boots, coats, etc.

At the back of the house you can see where they had to remove some of the ground behind the house for the new addition. The windows are in the quilt studio, the corner w/out windows is the new pantry, and the wall on the right is the now-enclosed back porch.

The concrete pad of the old back porch was the foundation for the newly enclosed back porch. This area used to be covered, but without walls, and used to be for firewood storage.

Inside the now-covered back porch, there's lots of room for wood storage, coats, boots, and even a second refrigerator or upright freezer!

Once in the house, just off of the back room to the left is the new pantry. Won't that be a great space, full of shelves for storage!

Beyond the back room is the quilt studio! With loads of room for shelves for fabric storage, a design wall, counter-top work spaces, and the center of the room reserved for Mom's long arm quilting machine.

By the time I left, we managed to get the ceiling panels in the pantry and backroom up, the walls painted with their first coat of sealant (more sealant and paint to come!)...

...and the inside walls put up in the porch.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the fun weekend! Can't wait to see the progress next time I'm up!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I'm catching a flight this morning to Washington to spend a long weekend with Mom and Dad. I'm looking forward to it! Perhaps we'll have some BIRTHDAY CAKE!

Happy Birthday, Mom!! See you SOON!!

Happy Birthday, Alan!

Happppy Birthday to you,
Happppyyyyy Birrrthday to you,
Happy Birrrrthhhdaaaaaay, dear Alan...
Happy Birthday to YOU!

41 looks GOOD...
no, make that GREAT!
on you!

Gettin' Gritty!

I have a photo published in the May/June 2011 issue of GRIT, and received a spare copy of the magazine from the publisher. I don't need two copies of the magazine for myself, so I thought I would do a give-away for the spare.

If you'd like to enter the drawing for a copy of this issue, leave me a note! I'll choose a name at random on Friday morning, April 22.

Here's to gettin' gritty!

$#@!%$@*&!!!

Sure... I waited until almost the last minute so I really can't complain TOO much, but I could POKE TurboTax's eyes out!

I was almost finished with my tax return. I got to the page right before you select your filing option, and saw my refund amount that was so proudly displayed in the top corner during the entire entry process miraculously turn into a "you owe us" amount! How could this be?! ... I got to poking around on the various pages and found that somehow ALL of my business income and expense entries were now at $0, and it was basing my "you owe us" amount purely on my salary.

Argh!!

I cleared the entire form, and will re-enter the data Friday, bright and EARLY. Should take a lot less time the second time around, I hope!

Argh, argh, ARRRRGH!! 

Weekend Update

Phweew! Yesterday was a scorcher! The hottest day of the year so far, having hit 93* degrees. Thankfully, a front blew in last night and cooled the air down to the mid 40s overnight, and today we have a perfectly cool and slightly breezy day. I'm going to ENJOY it while I can!

Yesterday, Alan and I ran some errands and noticed that the bluebonnets and red indian paint brush flowers are starting to bloom along the roadways. It's such a pretty time of year ... well, the prettiest it ever is in Texas, if you ask me! Last night I was inspired by those lovely little blue flowers and thought I would add them to this colored image of Annika. All colored up, she's ready to be added to a card or other paper project. But I haven't gotten that far yet.

While on our errands yesterday, we stopped at a small town hardware and lumber yard to see what kind of prices they had on wood for the new raised garden beds I want us to build for the garden. They carry a small supply of newly cut lumber, and I noticed some "aged" lumber in the rafters and asked about it. We told the guy what we wanted to build, and he took us out to where he had "used" lumber stacked. Various lengths of 2x6, 2x10, and 2x12 boards taken out of an old barn. And the price? $2 each. That sounded better than $7-$12...

...more to come...

Happy 40th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

March 20, 1970 (wait ... doesn't that make it your 41st?) ... or maybe I have the wrong year! Haa! HOUSTON, we have a PROBLEM! *grin*

March 20, 1971!

I was going to post a photo of you two on your wedding day, but I can't find one! I thought for SURE I had one of you two, standing in Grandma's dining room cutting cake, with the mule deer mount looking over your shoulders!

Must .... Keep .... Looking!

OK ... here's the best I can do!

Here is a photo of an 8x8 scrapbook page I made for Mom in 2005! And the mule deer mount I was remembering was actually an antelope! Notice I put the wrong YEAR on the tag... OOPS! I wasn't even alive ... how am I supposed to remember!! *GRIN*

Toothy... err, toothLESS!

At 8:15am I'll be in an oral surgeon's office getting my broken molar pulled and an implant post put in place... AGHHHH!!!!!

Little Dude!

You haven't seen the last of the cards I've made using some of my recently released Whipper Snapper stamps! Here's another one I'll share with you. This card uses the image called Hayseed, and a sentiment from my His Favorite Things cling set. Hayseed is Jennybelle's partner in crime.

The image was colored with markers and colored pencils, with white gel pen to add highlights.

I don't make many "boy" cards. I guess it's because I don't really know many young boys! To my delight, my friend Jennifer recently had a son who is as cute as can be! You can see him here on the baby quilt I made for him, and he's even in his birthday suit! Cute!!

In other news...
I made a trip to see an oral surgeon this afternoon. A couple of weeks ago, I broke one of my molars in half, and ended up pulling half of the tooth out. Thankfully, there has been minimal pain. I have opted to have the rest of the tooth pulled and an implant put in. *groan*  Today's appointment was a consultation with the surgeon, and the procedure is scheduled for next Thursday morning. Alan will be driving me to and from the appointment. I feel like I need to warn him; I'm pretty sure he's in for an experience.

Dad can tell him all kinds of stories about how, uh, gross it was when I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was in college. I went to college several hours from home, and Dad came down to take me to the appointment and to spend the weekend with me. And, well, it was gross. Too much motion, too early after sedation. I lost it. A lot! But even with all the grossness, he had a wonderful weekend chumming it up with the boys in my dorm while I slept.

Let's hope the activities following next week's procedure aren't quite as "gross"... I'll be sure to let you know, in full detail! *grin* I bet Dad's thankful Alan gets to fill-in as nursemaid for this event. Haa!

Happy Valentine's Day!

For all my papercrafting friends, here is a little piece of free vintage ephemera for you, scanned from my personal stash of vintage cards. Personal use only, please.

Now, go kiss your sweetie!

*smooch!*

And a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friend Manetta!

jibber jabber

I've had my eye out for a pressure cooker and canner for some time. We have a glass/smooth top stove and not all pots are recommended on glasstops. I was browsing online and came across this little number; imagine my delight when I saw it is approved for glasstops! I'll do a bit more research before settling on my purchase, though...

I like browsing the CSN store websites. They have a good variety from cookware, appliances, decor, and even corner TV stands! And with free shipping, and good prices, it's easy to build a wish list.

I'll let you know if I settle on the canner... with gardening season just around the corner, it might be nice to have a pressure cooker in the house!

I have the day off work today. We'll be taking Daisy and Farley up to the vet's office for their routine visit (shhhhh, don't tell them they have to get SHOTS!). Tuesday, Alan took two outside kitties, Dash and Boop, to the vet's office for a little snippity snip. Those two girls should be happy to see us when we arrive! But I bet the ride home will be LOUD and YOWLY! Ohhhh, the drama!!

small updates make big impact

*sorry for the dark photos... but it's night-time!*

This evening I made a short valance curtain for over the window in front of the kitchen sink. The kitchen window is not a very large window so I didn't want to block out any light. I picked out this chicken fabric some time ago, but just hadn't gotten around to making the curtain. I'm pleased with how it turned out!

The short valance curtain will be just right, I think! And it looks nice with the newly painted walls. It's hard to tell in the dark photos but the walls are a light Tuscan yellow, which sure beats the *hideous* 1980 wallpaper we've been living with!

I'm not sure what year the counter tops were installed (or "updated") in the kitchen, but mmmmy-oh-my were we tired of them! As you can see, our counter tops were ORANGE -- and not just in the kitchen, but in the master bathroom, too!

I know, I know, you're jealous. You want orange counters for your very own...

Last year Alan replaced the bathroom counter with pretty white tile, and it's sooooo nice! This year, we're tackling the kitchen!

We chose a 12"x12" Italian porcelain tile for the counters and back splash. I wanted minimal grout lines, and the 12"x12" counter tiles made for quick (relatively) work. Alan has done a wonderful job putting in new tile counter tops! I love them! They're beautiful, clean up like a dream, and are a million-dollar improvement to the ORANGE we used to live with!

The After-Christmas Mess!

Time for a little tidying up, wouldn't you say?

This & That

Good morning! We're well underway now for 2011; hope it's been good for you so far! I flew back to Texas on Thursday, and Alan and I had a quiet weekend.

Friday night I futzed around in the kitchen doing some cleaning and organizing. Two weeks ago bought myself some cute Pyrex refridgerator dishes and wanted to make some room for them in the dish cupboard. They are from the Butterprint line of Pyrex from the late 50s, and feature a cute little chicken. I've been watching ebay listings for about a year, and finally just decided to buy myself some. I found a listing that wasn't overpriced, and the dishes were said to be in excellent condition with no chips. They arrived in perfect condition!

Fitting them in the cupboard started an entire re-fresh of all the cupboards. I used to have a squishy removable foam shelf liner in the dish cupboard. It was an ugly brown color, and needed to be washed. I got it all washed up and then decided to change it out for some pretty, flowery, heavy duty scrapbook paper. I like the paper lining much better - and it was an inexpensive way to freshen the cupboard! At midnight, I was washing the silverware tray. Pretty exciting stuff for a new years eve celebration! *grin*

I've drawn winners for the 2011 On the Farm calendar blog candy, and I've got good news for two lucky readers! I have decided to give away two calendars, instead of just one.

To celebrate the new year, I figured comment #11 should be celebrated! Comment #11 was by LacyQuilter who said "Happy new year, Anna. What a fun calendar. I've just been sitting reading. No parties."

I also chose one winner at random (#48 was drawn), and big congrats go to Boulderneigh Michelle who said "Since your "farm" photos are my favorite part of your blog, I'd love to win a calendar. We didn't really celebrate at all, old married folks that we are. :-)"

Get in touch with me ladies, and I'll get your calendars out to you right away! You have your choice of standard size (11" wide), or small (7" wide).

Today I'm cooking a turkey dinner for Alan's parents, nephew, and us. We haven't been able to celebrate Christmas together yet (various travel schedules), so a nice turkey dinner seemed like a good way to wrap up the weekend and spend time with the family.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Happy New Year!!

First of all, I want to thank you all for taking time to read my blog. While keeping the blog is something I choose to do for personal reasons, it's the friendships I've made with readers that make continuing the blog most enjoyable! So thank you for sticking with me ... I wish you all the best in the coming year, and look forward to sharing more of life on the farm and crafty goodness with you in 2011!

I posted briefly about the 2011 On the Farm calendar earlier this month, and have received wonderful comments and compliments on the calendar. Thank you, thank you! If you haven't ordered a copy, it's not too late! *grin* Zazzle is offering a 20.11% discount on all orders now through January 6th using coupon code 2011NEWYEARS at checkout. Some of your favorite farm critters are featured in the pages of the custom calendar, and yes, all photos in the calendar are mine. Even Baaaaad Boxcar Betty makes an appearance!

Blog Candy!
To celebrate the changing of the year, I thought I would offer up a free calendar to one lucky blog reader! If you would like to enter the drawing, simply leave a comment on this post and tell me how you celebrated the new year. I'll select one name from all comments on Sunday, January 2nd at 10am Central. You'll have your choice of size (standard, or small).

Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year!

Coupon details:
20.11% of the product net sale price will be deducted when one or more qualifying products are purchased. The coupon code 2011NEWYEARS must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. For most products, the net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). For Zazzle Custom Stamps, the net sale price is the difference between the price of the Zazzle Custom Stamps (excluding shipping and taxes) and the face value of the postage. Offer is valid through January 6, 2011 at 11:59 PM PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer Valid on Zazzle.com only.

More SNOW!

 
Eight inches piled up today, so Dad went out and did some clearing in the driveway with his monster-sized snowblower.

 
The mountain and trees across the small valley are beautiful with the freshly fallen snow.

 
The snow was fluffy, but would have been great for snowballs and snowmen. It sure coated the trees nicely!

 
And Mom's lilac tree really looked neat at the edge of the front deck!

Time for hot cocoa!

Happy Holidays!

 
Alan and I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas, and all the best for the coming year! Ho ho ho, Moooo, Quack, Snort, Cluck, Meow, Woooof!, Naaaaay, Cheep, and Heeee Haaaw! Merry Christmas!

Can I get a do-over?

After several flight delays, rebookings, and delays due to "hardware issues" on planes, I finally made it to Spokane Monday night. Unfortunatly, my suitcase hasn't been so lucky! It was supposed to arrive in Spokane Monday but on a much later flight than me. The nice folks at the Delta counter arranged for it to be delivered to Mom and Dad's house. This morning, still no suitcase. According to Delta, my suitcase is in Dallas/FortWorth! Funny...that's where I was (with my suitcase) on Monday! So, here I sit, on hold on the Delta luggage help line (for over an hour now) waiting to talk to an agent to get the suitcase on another flight to Spokane. Yippee for me!

I went to the dentist yesterday and have to go back tomorrow. Oh bother! Who wants to visit the dentist on vacation!? Not me...

I think by the end of the week, I'm going to need a "do-over" on my vacation. *grin*

Dashing tooooo the snow...

This morning I'm catching a flight north to Washington state to spend Christmas with Mom and Dad. While I'm not looking forward to traveling, I am looking forward to 10 days in the snowy white north! Alan is staying at the farm taking care of all the critters, and will spend Christmas with his mom and dad. While I'll be enjoying chilly temps and snow, Alan will be experiencing some very unseasonal 50-80 degree weather. I wonder if January will bring cold winter temperatures to Texas...

I will post as often as I can! *grin*

Don't forget to make peanut butter cups for Christmas!

Guess Who!

I was going through photos on the camera earlier and came across this photo... any guesses as to who it might be?

UPDATED:
For those of you who guessed that the subject in the above photo is Mister Farley, you're right!
And for those of you who thought the photo was a bit "scandelous", let me remind you that this is a family blog, I tell ya! *grin*

Here is Mister Farley in focus, with some serious FLASH eyes! Grrrrrr, scary dog! Look how white his face is becoming! But he doesn't let a little white hair hinder his puppy dog spirit. He still enjoys his nightly ritual of playing with his stuffed hedgehog (his favorite toy). He tosses his hedgehog in the air, catches it, and squeaks it over and over. Then when he's tired of playing toss and catch, he lays the hedgehog on the floor in front of the overstuffed chair, flops over on his side and squishes the hedgehog while he flops and wiggles and kicks his legs. What seems to be even more fun is when there are other hedgehogs in front of the chair too! The more squishing and squeaking, the better! He might not be the "smartest" fella on the farm, but he just might be the cutest!

All Gimped Up

Nothing makes me feel older than a sore back. I was moving a few 50# bags of feed, and must have moved a little "wrong". Ooooh, the pains...  thank goodness for Alan insisting I sit with a heat pad on my back, and for insisting I take muscle relaxers! *dopey grin*

Happy Thanksgiving!

From all of us here on the farm, warm wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!

Maybe time...

Alan and I live in a farmhouse that was built around 1940 (Alan knows the exact date). Much of the house has been remodeled, but not in this decade. Alan has been tackling projects around the house, including refinishing the vanity in the master bathroom. What was once bright ORANGE Formica (circa 1972?) is now beautiful white tile. The vanity in the smaller bathroom, while not quite as "charming", might just be next... I've been checking out these bathroom cabinets and think I've found one or two that I like. Perhaps it's time to flip a coin!

Organizing... and dusting.

I've been organizing things in my craft area over the past few weeks, and thought I would share a bit of the fun! If you're not "crafty", I'm sure this post will be of little interest for you. I'm working on a farm update post so all you un-crafty, non-stamper readers have something to look forward to! *grin*

 Bit by Bit...

My crafting area is all about function, not so much about being "pretty". I love drawers and having lots of places to put things, which is good because I've gathered a LOT of things over the years! I literally have a WALL-o-SUPPLIES in front of me when I'm sitting at my work table. And I love it this way! My table is nice and wide, provides me with lots of work area, and is sturdy enough to support all of these things.

One of the first things I did when I started the reorganizing project was sort through my "miscellaneous" stamps in the drawers I have above my table. There are specific drawers now for things like snowmen, and chickens, and I also divided up sentiments by theme. There is a Christmas drawer, birthday drawer, etc. Sometimes it just makes sense to keep stamps organized by company; I do this for Rosie's Roadshow, A Muse, and most of my wood mounted Whipper Snapper stamps. Some wood mounted Whipper Snapper stamps are stored in other drawers, like chicken and snowman, where appropriate.

I use old Stampin' Up stamp cases to keep the smaller sentiments contained within the larger drawers. The cases keep the small stamps lined up and facing upwards, so I can easily see what each case contains. One of the things I did during the "reorg" was pull sentiments out of Stampin' Up sets, and put them in with my other sentiment stamps. So now, if I want a birthday sentiment, I go to the birthday drawer and all of the sentiments I own that are birthday related are there for me to choose from. Previously, when the sentiments were stored with their original Stampin Up set case, they just weren't being seen (or used).

I went through all of the little drawers I have on my desk, making sure things were in the right drawer, and that the drawers were in the best order. Glitters, watercolor pots, sparkly powders, and flocks are on one side, pens, pencils, and various drawing tools are in the next row, miscelaneous doo-dads, tags, office supplies are in the next row, and buttons, brads, charms, and other embellishments are in the next row. The large white wooden drawers are used for 12x12 paper, tools, prima flowers, 6x6 paper, and various envelopes and pre-scored card bases.

I used to keep all of my Stampin' Up ink pads grouped by their assigned color family (brights, earth tones, subtles, etc), but decided I would rather have them grouped by ROYGBIV, which is how I sort all things color related (glitters, pencils, buttons, etc). I find this method of sorting much more logical, and it's easier for me to find what I'm looking for. I took all of the ink pads out of the spinner, dusted them off (yoyo yellow was crazy dusty!), and put them back into the spinner in ROYGBIV order. A spinning rainbow of color!

The ink pad colors that don't fit in the spinner flow over to the wooden storage rack next to the wall. Pinks, purples, and the neutral colors fit there perfectly, along with the selection of pigment ink pads I own. The wooden ink storage that's sitting on my desk is from Storage Units, Ink. It's wonderful quality, and is in like new condition even though I've been using it for about 6 years. I only wish that I had opted to order the version that only has the ink pad slots and the re-inker holes. I don't store markers in the unit (which is what the smaller drilled holes are for), so that is a bit of waste of space on my storage unit. I do like having the re-inkers next to the ink pads, though -- that's a great option! (The little white capped bottles stuck into the storage unit, and on top of the storage spinner, are the ink refills for the ink pads.)

The wooden rack mounted on the wall houses other inks (Ranger Distress, VersaMagic, StazOn, etc). It is a curio cabinet I got years ago from my Aunt Judy. Thanks Judy! Bet you didn't think it would still be used after all of these years! It's mounted on the wall sideways...it's light weight, doesn't take up a bunch of space, and the shelves are the perfect size! And it's a cute spot for me to display a few of my stamps, too! Above that is an old Coca-Cola bottle case, storing little bottles of buttons. These will soon be replaced with small stamps and doo-dads set on display, as the Coca-Cola shelf is a bit high to reach to often for supplies. Everything got a good dusting, and straightening up.

Next, I settled on a new way of organizing the markers I use most frequently. These storage cases are meant to stand upright on the surface of the table, but they were taking up too much space, and it was difficult to see the colors. I decided to turn the cases on their sides at a slight angle and stack them. Not only did this solve the issue of not being able to see the colors well, but also takes up a LOT less space! I used two small foam adhesive dots to adhere each case to the one below, so if I choose to change the way they are set up, it will be as simple as removing two foam dots from each case. I used an old cutting rail (a 1/2" piece of teflon from my 12" Fiskars rotary paper cutter) as the prop under the cases. A piece of sticky strip tape holds the teflon strip in place. Perfect!

Another thing I did to the markers was add a cardstock dot, along with the color number, to the tops of the smaller markers. Since my markers are two different sizes, I wanted to be able to quickly know which colors fell into a series, and keeping them in numerical order also makes it quicker to find the colors I want to use since they'll always be in the same spot. I used a standard office supply paper punch to make the circles, a fine tip marker to write the color numbers, and small zot glue dots to hold the cardstock circles in place. Easy as can be, and I'm quite happy!

The largest organization project I took on was regrouping my Stampin Up wood mounted sets. A lot of people have chosen to unmount their wood mounted stamps to save space, but I don't want to do that. I LIKE stamping with wood blocks, and I like seeing the image art stickers on the blocks. So instead of unmounting all of my stamps, I chose to move them into larger storage containers, and combine sets with similar line art style and theme. I chose to use Thicker Stuftainers from Stampendous, which are the perfect depth for wood mounted stamps.

Here you can see stamps from several sets all mixed into one box ... but really, all of the images could be used with each other, due to their similar art style.

I also used Thin and Thick Stampendous Stuftainers to store some of my cling mount images. The Thin and Thick containers are the same size as the Thicker containers, just thinner, so they line up nicely with the newly combined sets. I keep stamps that are just bare rubber in three-ring binders, by company and by theme. At the far left, you can see I still have a few sets in their original containers from Stampin Up.

It's obvious that people who choose to completely unmount their stamps are able to save a great deal more space than the option I chose, but I'm pleased as punch with my newly organized shelves, and I love how inspired I am to use more of my stamps! They're so much easier to get to!

And what's left over? Loads of empty Stampin Up cases (most with lables). Need any? $1 each plus shipping. *grin*

I also tidied up the ribbon rack that hangs on the door that opens up to the water heater area. This rack used to be an over-the-door towel rack. No more towels... it has been "ribbon central" for several years, and it works great! Hello, my pretties!

So... now I want to hear from you! How do you organize, any tricks up your sleeves, and I wanna see photos! *grin*

Happy Birthday, Daisy!

Six years ago I adopted Daisy from a family who could no longer keep her. They were her third family, and I was her fourth -and forever- family.

Today she turns 10, and I think if you asked her, she would tell that she is as happy as can be.

Happy 10th birthday, to my favorite chocolate chunk!

I think it's time to whip up some of her favorite treats!
(If you know Daisy, you know that EVERY treat is her favorite treat...)

Sweet Miss Daisy *Hearts* Cookies (for dogs)
2 cups Whole Wheat flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 TBS Honey
1 Egg
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Milk (soy, rice, goat, or fat free cow)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder and garlic powder together in a mixing bowl. Stir in honey, egg, oil and milk. (I just use a fork for all the mixing and it works great!) The dough will be somewhat dry, but it will stick together.

On a wheat floured surface, knead the dough 10-15 times. Pat into nicely shaped ball and roll out onto cutting surface 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes (we recommend HEARTS), or cut into 1.5" squares. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Let cool on the sheet. Serve one cookie to all dogs, and store remaining cookies in an airtight container.

All the dogs on the farm give these cookies TWO PAWS UP! WOOF!

Happy Birthday, John!

We've got another birthday in the family today -- Alan's dad, John, celebrates his 74^th 73^rd 74^th birthday today. (I think I've finally got it right!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, John!

We're having John and Sue (Alan's mom) over for dinner tomorrow, and it should be fun. Burgers, presents, and cake! Can't go wrong with that on a Sunday afternoon!

I made a spice cake ...oops! not a spice cake... it's a butter pecan cake (mix), topped with a coconut pecan frosting. I hope it's good!

PS: Here's a sneak peek at another one of my new stamp illustrations, part of the upcoming Whipper Snapper release!

 

Happy Birthday, Dad!

It's a BIG day for Dad, and wish we were at his place to celebrate with him. He puts on a great BBQ dinner (not just on special days, either!), and some grilled viddles sound pretty good!

Some of you may not know that Dad often comments here on the blog - watch for comments by DK Wight -- you're sure to get a giggle. Some of you know his handle and look forward to his posts as much as I do. He enjoys the friendly community of readers here, and "knows" all frequent commenters, asking about you by name when I'm visiting. You're all a part of our extended family! *grin*

Please join me in wishing Dad a very happy birthday!

Happy Birthday, Dad!