Eye Candy Friday

This is my knitting instructor’s Mom’s latest FO.  Isn’t it gorgeous?  I can’t wait for her to get tired of it and pass it down to her only daughter…  lol  So girly and pretty…  I love it!

I’m packing up today and getting ready for Labor Day weekend in the Rockies!  Supposed to be in the mid to lower 80s all weekend.  I remember being there during Labor Day weekends past, when it snowed!  The weather in the mountains can change phenomenally quickly!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend planned too.  I’m outta here.

A Taste of Iowa

Until my basil is mature, (and assuming it’s going to live)  I buy the fresh stuff from our little local market here in town.  I just happened to see, out of the corner of my eye, on the package it says, "A Taste of Iowa", so I had to read further…  Sure enough my basil is grown at Mariposa Farms in Grinnell, Iowa!  That’s where our favorite pumpkin patch is–Carroll’s Pumpkin Patch.

Very cool.  I love that I can continue to support local Iowa business!  (we eat lots of fresh basil!)

Here are a couple links, if you’d like to look:

http://www.mariposafarms.com/index.html

http://carrollspumpkinfarm.com/index.php   

I feel Autumn! Do you feel it?

It’s very overcast today, a little breezy and 60 degrees, drizzling.  It was supposed to get up to 75, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.  It’s just lovely!  I’ve even seen a little glimpse of fall colors around town already…  Love it, love it!  The pups and I even enjoyed the cool weather with a cup of coffee out on the deck this morning…  Here they are, enjoying the outdoors:

I thought about stopping at the coffee shop downtown this morning, but came to the conclusion that if it isn’t Starbucks, it probably isn’t worth the money…  Yes, my husband has made me a complete coffee snob!  The pups are really glad I came home for coffee, anyway!

So…guess what this is…

It’s Bee’s sweater…completed!   Well almost completed.  You knit the collar as you sew it together, which is what I’m going to do with my mother, in Colorado this weekend.  I can’t wait to get this puppy off my needles and on that boy!  I already have big plans for wearing this to the pumpkin patch!  (Yep, I’m already considering what the boys should wear for pictures to match my scrapbook paper!  lol )

I’m going to get Rachael out of storage and start on her now…  Do you even remember Rachael?  She’s a lace shawl that I began last summer…my first big knitting project.  I want to finish her up, so that I can wear it this fall.  Also started another pair of socks.   Made out of the Knitpicks yarn that I bought for my fair isle socks that…um…didn’t quite work out…  I’m putting these on the back burner for now and plan to finish them up during Sockoberfest!  Gonna double strand the heel and toe and hopefully have a really comfy, durable pair of hand knit socks…we’ll see…

Also been doing some scrapbooking.  Don’t get too excited though, much of this is not my work!

This first layout was created by Nicki for our page swap.  All I had to do was add journaling and finishing touches.  Love doing page swaps!  Nicki is a very talented scrapbooker too…  She needs to do many more pages for me!  lol

This second one is mine.  Done for Challenge #3 that Belinda sent me.  The topic was "The Place You Call Home".  When I realized all my "home" stuff was the house in Iowa, I decided that I had to participate in this challenge.  This layout is based on a design by Nisa Finn, but tweaked quite a bit.

This blue one is another page swap layout.  This one created by Tiffany.  All I did was add journaling.  I didn’t want to cover any of the cool paper cutting effect.

And lastly this page was a Stamp Club project…just a few finishing touches and add the picture and there you go…  Beautiful job, Nicki!

So, I’m off to finish up some Mommy stuff and make another batch of salsa…

So many tomatoes, so little time…

Saturday afternoon and doing what we want!

Scott and I slept in this morning…I mean really slept in!  Then Scott got up and made everyone french toast for breakfast.  We both wanted to spend all day in our jammies, but he succumbed to having to cut the grass and didn’t want to do it in his p.j.s.–Like o-kay, whatever!  (said in my best valley girl voice.)

I love having time to figure out what I want to do, spending time in my office, getting organized and making menus for the week and drawing up a grocery list based on those menus.  I love being on top of things!  That’s what I’m doing now, looking for ground beef recipes on my new favorite recipe site, www.allrecipes.com .  Figured out my budget this morning, yep still broke…lol…this time it’s kid’s activities and uniforms that have me in the poor house…  I guess the little munchkins are worth it, though.  lol

We’re looking forward to going to Colorado for Labor Day.  All the folks that live in Big Elk Meadows have a big potluck/picnic on Labor Day and we’ve been many times before.  We’re going to join them again this year.  The boys will have a blast.  I’m sure my honey will go fishing and the boys just love being there.  Mother and I will knit our little hearts out. I’m still very optimistic that I’ll have the pieces of Bee’s sweater done, so that Mama and I can sew them together next weekend!  I only have the back to re-knit and finish up and I’ll be done!  I’m hoping for cooler weather while there too!  A couple days in the 60s this week really got me in the mood for fall–AND one of our neighbors already has pumpkins in her front yard!  Where can you get pumpkins this early?  (she must have grown them herself, right?  and planted them really early?)  I’m so jealous!

Also thinking about attending a scrap retreat…  it isn’t too far away from home and I’d only want to be gone one night, not all weekend…  But I’ve really been bitten by the scrapbooking bug lately!  With the demise of our stamp club and possibly losing our wonderful little lls, makes me very sad, but I’ve got to find more fun creative outlets, right?  So, I’m thinking about this local retreat…  it’s bi-annual and I hear really good things about it…  So, here’s a couple things I’ve made lately:

This is a birthday card for our Grandpa.  I totally stole the design from a class at our lss.  I should really pay for the class, I think!  But isn’t it adorable?  (I can say that because it isn’t my design…and not be a complete snot.  lol)

Then this is a layout for a page swap that I’m doing.  I wanted it to be super fun and childish looking.  I thought the photos were unbelievably adorable!  I hope Kelly likes it.  All she has to do is add journaling and ta-dum!  Isn’t her son a cutie?

I so want to do more scrapbooking, but I have priority knitting this week…

And so here’s a couple more things I wanted to share.   I fell in love with this little shirt the moment I saw it and knew my boys had to have one.  It’s a puppy, playing with Mommy’s yarn.  Will likes it alot (I think mostly because he knows how much I like it.)

And this is really kinda funny…Scotty picked out this shirt, I guess mostly because he liked the colors, because he can’t read yet…  but what it says is so "him"!  It’s perfectly appropriate for this kid.  It just cracks me up!  Both boys were very happy to announce, this morning, that they knew it was not a school day and they get to stay home!

I think the first week back at school has been a little hard for both of them.  They’ve both been very tired and a little grumpy and they go to bed with very little playing around.  I think I’ve also discovered the secret to limiting Bee’s morning complaining about going to school.  If I get there 5-10 minutes before they unlock the doors at school, the whole student body is on the playground.  They loved jumping out of the car and going and playing for a few minutes before going into the classroom.  I’m going to try and do that from now on.

So, in closing, here’s a gratuitous puppy picture.  This is our little tootsie-pop.  And I’m outta here, gonna go water the garden and see if there’s anything ready to eat.

I hope you’re having a great Saturday too!

Eye Candy Friday

Just a pretty little barn on the way to Big Elk Meadows in Colorado.

I hope you have a great weekend!

That’s is this time.

Strangely Quiet, But Nice

Both boys are in full time school as of today.  Scotty did great this morning, no crying, no hiding behind Mommy.  He acted a little shy, but nobody else would have known it.  His teacher had the kids’ desks all set up, with their names and names on cubbies.  It was all really exciting.   Will even came along to see Scotty’s new classroom this morning.  It was all very good.

It is strange to be home alone and the quiet is sometimes deafening…  I’m sure I’ll get used to it. 

I signed up yesterday to volunteer in Bee’s classroom.  I’m hoping to hear from his teacher soon.  Scotty said he’d love for Mommy to help out at school.  I also want to do something with Will’s class, if they still do that in 1st grade.  I’ll have to talk to his teacher about that.  First grade already seems much more formal than kindergarten…

It’s kind of a dreary day outside, overcast, rainy, but it’s cool!  The high today is supposed to be 72, so you know I’m a happy camper about that!  Funny how this time of year, the weather just seems to change overnight…  We had some pretty strong thunderstorms come thru last night.  I’m not sure if the storm woke me up, or the puppy, terrified and shivering, under the covers…   The little scaredy dog is the one on the left.  The little blonde just snoozes through storms…  My sweet Jo taught K.C. to be scared of loud noises…  I don’t mind having to baby him, reminds me of calming my Jo.

I’m going to put beef tips in the slow cooker for dinner tonight.  I’ve really been struggling with cooking lately, not wanting to do it and Scott getting home late and just too tired by the time he gets home.  So, need to get out the ol’ slow cooker for a few days…

Speaking of cooking, this is some yummy apple/zucchini bread!  So, so good.  If you’d like the recipe, here’s the link:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Zucchini-Bread/Detail.aspx  Tastes like fall with the little bit of shredded apple and I’m ready for fall, baby! 

So, I’m going to go start getting used to my quiet house.  I’m going to do some knitting and cooking and enjoy the moment!  I hope you have a great day too. 

A rich kid and cooking news

I’ve done lots of cooking and trying new recipes lately, especially today!  I worked my butt off today, but it was all fun stuff…  I was disappointed that I didn’t get to do more, but my day was completely full, as it turned out.

So the first thing I want to tell you about it my Dood!  The kid lost another tooth.  Pretty soon he won’t have any and will have to live on applesauce!  He’s so proud and immediately started making plans for his new money! He’s so funny.  So onto the cooking.

I made pineapple/pretzel salad while I was at my folk’s house and it was so, so yummy.  I don’t know why it’s called salad?  It’s dessert-clearly!  And it was a huge hit with my parents.  So here’s a picture and the recipe follows.  So, so yummy and cool-perfect food for the hot summer weather we’ve been having lately.

PINEAPPLE PRETZEL SALAD

2 cups crushed pretzels

1 cup butter, melted

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1 (8oz) container frozen shipped topping, thawed

2 (20 oz) cans crushed pineapple

1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Place crushed pretzels in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.  Pour melted butter carefully over top.  Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes.

3.  Cream together cream cheese and sugar.  Fold in whipped topping.  Spread over cooled crust.  Combine pineapple and pudding mix.  Spread over whipped topping layer.  Chill until serving.

YUMMO!   So today was spent using veggies from our garden, starting with 3 lbs of Roma tomatoes…that eventually became this:   homemade salsa.  This jar was kept out to eat now and 8 more containers in the freezer.  I haven’t had any of it yet, but my honey said it was delicious!  (Always a good thing, since Scott’s a food snob and doesn’t dish out food compliments lightly…)  I can’t wait to try it-maybe tomorrow.

Also brought home some zucchini from Colorado that became this: Apple Zucchini bread.  I found this recipe at www.allrecipes.com and it is really wonderful, crunchy crust and moist inside, sweet.  One for now and one in the freezer…  I love having special stuff in the freezer to whip out whenever I have company…  Makes me feel like a good mommy.

I was pooped by the end of the day, but I was determined to make goulash for dinner tonight.  I’m glad I did.  It was yummy, and made from more homegrown veggies.   This garden thing is definitely the way to go.  All the bell peppers and tomatoes have been awesome!  Why didn’t I do this before?  Wait til next year, my garden’s going to be twice as big!

Scotty had fun today, got to stay at home with Mommy-the last part of the kindergarten class was having their placement screening today.  So Bee and I go to school for an hour in the morning to take his supplies and see his classroom and meet his teacher.  Wish us luck.

I guess that’s it for today.  It’s been a long, fun, productive day for me.  I’m hoping one day this week, to sit on my butt and maybe do some knitting or quilting…  We’ll see.

First Day of School

What was I so worried about?  They’re crazy nuts!  (just like their Mommy and Daddy…mostly Daddy.)

Bee had a little bit of an initial melt-down when we got to school, but after a 10 minute parents meeting, I went back to the classroom to check on him and he was happy and waved at me and smiled.

Of course, as I knew he would be, Will was great, easy-going, excited to have fun with new school friends and a new teacher.  I like his new teacher-she’s young and pretty-she looks very sweet.

The boys get out early today and Scotty’s doesn’t go to school at all tomorrow…so this week is still going to be a little wonky.  It’s strangely quiet around here, but I’ve got enough to do to keep me busy!

I hope my boys have a great first day of school!

This beautiful baby…

Is our youngest, now 5 and going to full-day kindergarten tomorrow.  I’m a wreck. 

Yes, we have another son, who’s going to be in the first grade tomorrow.  Will’s different, he’s the big boy, he’s already done kindergarten and loved it.  He’s excited and can’t wait to go back to school.  I have no worries about my Dood.  He’s brave, smart, eager to learn and do new things and meet new people.  He’s such an easy kid.

My Bee tells me that he doesn’t want to grow up, he wants to be my kid forever, he hates school and doesn’t want to go.  He even asked if he quit eating, would he stop growing…  What do you say to a kid who LOVES being a kid?  He has no interest in growing up and being an adult.  I think he’s smart, beyond comprehension.

God, I hope he loves school.  I hope he has fun.  I hope he makes friends and really, really likes his teacher.  God, I love this boy so much!  I want him to have fun!

And just to be fair, here’s a baby picture of my handsome Will.  Those blue eyes are dreamy, even in black and white!

Eye Candy Friday is early again this week!

I have no idea what kind of flowers these are, but they were beautiful and purple and in front of an ice cream store!  What more could a girl want?

Today’s our last full day of summer vacation.  We’re going home tomorrow morning and school starts on Monday.  We’re just going to hang out at Guh’s house today, knit, play and have fun.

Got to take off early tomorrow in order to get unpacked and cleaned up for a party we’re having at home on Saturday.  Kind-of a last day of summer/water slide party…  Should be fun.  I know I’m going to be super busy when I get home, probably no time to have fun with the ol’ blog. 

So, I’m going to go enjoy my last day here.  I hope you’re having a great one too!