Thursday, August 30, 2012

Thoughts on Thursday/no complaints edition


  • I am so blessed to have 9 beautiful, healthy grandchildren (and I know you have read enough about them).
  • My tomatoes are really good this year, no blossom end rot. I LOVE fresh tomatoes and sweet corn! Next year I will plant fewer cherry tomatoes. Do you like tomatoes? How do you eat them? My favorite way, by far, is to eat it like an apple and salt every bite....not too healthy I suppose. Once in awhile I'll slice one and sprinkle some sugar on it. Is that common or do you find it odd?


  • I made some extra money at my BFFs garage sale by selling a few toys my grandsons had outgrown. Now I have a couple of boxes to drop off at the thrift store.....cleaning out little by little.
  • Have you ever listened to a squirrel? They make a strange screeching, whining sound. I closed my eyes and tried to determine what the black squirrel sounded like as he 'called' loudly on our deck for at least 5 minutes. Maybe a cross between a cat and bird??? 
  • If I even want to fake a death scene I have the perfect look for dried blood....my hair color dries to look like blood when it gets on clothing. Just a little FYI.....

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

What Happens at Grandma's House Stays at Grandma's.....

....unless Grandma has a blog. Last week started off with a big smile from C as she finally got her rolling backpack (or luggage as she calls it). She and her mom (my daughter) came for lunch and to drop off her big sister for a visit. C hasn't stayed overnight here yet, maybe next year when she is 5.
 The week was full of: international spies with their corresponding weapons, potions (no empty spice shaker jar, flower petal, fruit, dish washing liquid was safe), "Grandma....", sweet treats, noise, parks, photo ops, imaginations in use, TV, books, crafts, and FUN! One day we made cake pops; they had fun decorating and eating the cake donut holes. I picked up the BABYCAKES cake pop maker ($2) at the thrift store a day or 2 before A's visit.
these 2 grands got along just perfect
 One day A and I packed a picnic lunch and went to tour the Bookworm Gardens at UW Sheboygan. The garden is geared toward younger children but we certainly enjoyed it. There are several different gardens and sculptures with a storybook theme and all are encouraged to interact with the displays (no wading in the fish pond though). Books are stashed all over the area for reading.

The Magic School bus was just one of the areas, children can go inside to drive the bus. Other themes were: Horton Hatches an Egg, The Three Little Pigs, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Little House in the Big Woods, and many more. I didn't post a lot of photos because I realize that everyone is not as enthralled with my grandchildren as I am.....really????



Of course we did some girly things too. I found this pretty gold nail polish on clearance and painted her nails for her. I really like the gold color and if I had nails I'd try it on myself. It's Grammy Gold from Wet & Wild, found it at Walgreen's.  



pretty, young, unlined hands

There were some lazy TV times. Grandson J had borrowed a Johnny Test dvd from the library and they both love him....so......


I spotted some melted crayon art in a magazine and since found out that it is all the rage. I have lots of crayons, picked up a canvas at the thrift store, and own a hair dryer so we were all set. A decided to give this to her mom (her birthday was Saturday). I really love it! She also worked on her small scrapbook that she started last winter when she stayed with us. Another scrapbooking granddaughter :-)!!! She wants scrapbook supplies for Christmas and I have a head start on that. She made a birthday card for mom too (I think mom lets her stay here the week before her birthday so A can make something????) A is very creative and into the arts: she's taking an advanced dance class, reads a variety of books, has a favorite classical music piece, is a peacemaker, doesn't like being the middle child, and loves to make art and craft projects. 



Melted crayon art
 One afternoon I took my 2 grandsons and A to the local aquatic center.....the following day was the last day it was open. We all had a lot of fun; whether it was going down the water slide (yes-I did) or playing in the sand area (no-I did not).


 I found a recipe for home made ice cream in the August issue of Woman's Day magazine, so we had to make it.

No Fuss Ice Cream
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • one 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Beat everything until stiff peaks form (3-5 minutes). Transfer into a loaf pan, cover and freeze until firm (at least 8 hours). Good for up to 2 weeks.

As you can see we added mini chocolate chips to ours. The kids loved it. It was fun and easy to make. Just think of what other things you could add to it-fruit would be fantastic.



These are only SOME of the things we did last week. We had someplace to go every day, it was almost too busy. Some days I had 2 and sometimes 3 kids here. They slept in the tent twice and all of them got along perfectly.....I loved it...I try to have whomever wants to spend a few days here come to visit (once they are potty trained), but it sure is nice to have the house quiet and to ourselves again. Remember, I'm an introverted homebody!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

the Never Ending Card

After a week of grand kids I needed a break, so BFF and I decided to attend a stamping event, a small stamping event....there was a total of 4 stampers in attendance. One of the cards I made was this 'never ending' card. It appeared to be complicated, but really wasn't! I made this one for my granddaughter (who was visiting last week).
front
The card measures 5-1/2 X 5-1/2". I used 2 pieces of double sided paper...and that is really all you need. Side one is the light blue design, and the light green is the reverse. I glued on some coordinating papers to dress it up for my granddaughter.

the first opening, open in direction of arrow




'side 3'

For the inside I used rub-ons and some printed words. I also used the arrows so she'd know how to open it.


last side


After you open this one you are back at the card front. I didn't think I'd ever make it again....but I know I will. It really is simple. This is for my 9 year old Ava. You could even make it a mini scrapbook, the largest squares are a little over 2". If anyone wants the directions I will get them to you! Just email or leave a comment!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Thoughts on Thursday



  • If you are hosting an event, either indoors or out, at your home or away, PLEASE DON'T APOLOGIZE  and say that it's not going to be as good as Mary's or Sue's or Martha Stewart's!!! It's YOUR home or garden and your event, do it the way YOU see fit! (Just another of my opinions).
  • Yes, I brake for garage sales. If I see a lot of baby items I pass by though. I haven't gone to very many this year........just don't need any more 'stuff'.
  • I like to sleep, just a couple of years ago I loved to get up really early (in the summer), but the past 2 years I like to sleep in..........what happened?
  • Is it my imagination or is Dawn's dishwashing liquid quality going downhill? I use Dawn almost exclusively, because the suds did not fade with greasy pans. But lately I have to keep adding it to my dishwater....even without greasy pans. What do you think?
  • Do I love spending time with my grandchildren? or is taking them just an excuse to have someone to go along with me to the places I really want to see?
  • Everyone's doing Instagram.......do you? Do you like it? I think it's OK for some shots, but I don't really care for it for all photos. I just visited a blog and her photos of their new house were on Instagram and I thought it made for a bad presentation. Just my opinion....once again.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Fall is in the Air

Yup, it's beginning to feel a lot like fall.........it's dark outside until almost 6AM, the birds are not singing at 4:30AM any more. 
The hot and humid days are past. The evening starts earlier and feels cool and damp. My tomatoes are starting to look a little run down, but they are ripe!!! A few errant leaves are drying up and falling to the ground. 
Thoughts of Halloween surround us. 
Our Red Hat group attends an annual Halloween party and we like to dress up as a group, this year we are dressing as an era: the 70's. I've been watching the Mary Tyler Moore show for clothing styles and will be hitting the thrift store soon for some new duds. 

I still wanna be sitting in this chair, overlooking the lake, with a good book in hand. 
This is an easy card I made at convention this spring: 2 pieces of patterned paper on the front, fancy punch (which I did buy) up the middle, punched image, stamped phrase....and it's (one of) my ideal spots to be!

Friday, August 17, 2012

the Friday 56/Tomorrow is a River/book review

It's Friday and time for Freda's 56
Stop and visit her blog and check out the other snippets from page 56 of the books we are reading.
p.56 "At eventide they hit a rock and the lead canoe was tipped over. Kemink, who had changed into buckskins for the trip, leaped onto the rock; but Caroline, less agile in her long skirts and petticoats, sank slowly with the canoe."

This book, published in 1977, is co authored by Peggy Hanson Dopp and Barbara Fitz Vroman. Tomorrow is a River was recommended to me by a friend many years ago, I read it and loved it and was fortunate enough to find the book in an antique store so I purchased it. It is one of the books I kept when I purged my bookshelves.

A young minister, who is very full of himself, moves his wife and young son into the wilderness in central Wisconsin on the Tomorrow river in the pre-civil war days. The young wife, Caroline, finds a friend in the Indian woman who is married to a white man. Their 2 sons are close in age and become fast friends. When Adam leaves Caroline she is determined to stay and make a good life for her little family. This book follows the lives of Caroline and her friend Kemink as they live off the land and face many struggles that the early settlers faced in the days preceding the civil war. There is a lot of history here. For instance-did you know that the Peshigo fire was at the same time as the great Chicago fire? Everyone knows about the Chicago fire but between 1,200 and 2,400 people died in the Peshtigo Fire and the death toll in Chicago was about 250.

The reason I love the book is because it is about Wisconsin and mentions many areas that I am familiar with. My daughter lives on the Tomorrow river! My 12 year old grandson is an avid reader and I am urging him to read it.....maybe I'll let him keep the book, with the promise that if he gets rid of it I get it back!

Yes, you should read this!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Thoughts on Thursday

Just a couple of things that are on my mind today:
  • Seems to me that McDonald's is really trying to get us addicted to their fries - in this part of the country you can get a free berry chiller and fries if you save up 5 coupons from the receipts. Yes, I admit it...I've redeemed the coupons for said deal. I like the chiller, very tasty. I'm not crazy about the fries (I seldom eat fries) but I had to eat them b/c I don't believe in wasting food....but are those fries considered to be real food????
  • I won 2 spa gift certificates and can now get another pedicure
  • I also won a $50 certificate from the YMCA and plan to use it for a massage (I have to supplement my part time income somehow)



  • SS got another job after loosing the first one, hope this one works out 
  • bff's kidney disease went from stage IV to III and no longer needs a transplant
  • It's not fun to ride for 1-1/2 hours in a car with a man whom use to make you feel like a princess but now won't even talk and if asked a question it is ether answered with another question or with a very sharp one word answer
  • My One Hot and Tired Grandma post must have sent out some unintended vibes b/c I had a lot more readers of that post than normal
  • OK, so I have opinions.......I wonder, is it true that people don't like that? Should I just be silent and smile at everything/everyone and not express myself??? 
  • On this cloudy rainy day today I'd like nothing better than to stay inside and be domestic but I have errands to run, grand kids to watch and MUCH cleaning to do before my daughter her daughters come on Sunday....wish me luck!!!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Mackenzie is 4

You're right-more about the grand kids. In 3 weeks they'll be back in school and (hopefully) I'll have more time to devote to MY interests. Saturday night our 2 grandsons spent the night. The older grandson is very active and wanted to set the tent up, so we did. Of course he wanted to sleep in it....I am NOT going to sleep outside in a tent....been there, done that....and it was loads of fun (back in the day). Hubby is not a 'fun, kid loving outdoor kind of guy' so he wasn't going to sleep in the tent either. The boys are 7 & 8 and I wasn't if I should let them sleep outside by themselves.  I told them to ask grandpa and he said 'yes'. We live in a small town, our backyard is very private, the tent was set up right next to the open windows in the family room,  hubby was sleeping in the family room, and we left the lights on in the back yard for them. I didn't think the younger one would sleep in the tent. They went 'to bed' at nearly 10PM and, much to my surprise, they stayed out until about 5AM when they got cold and had to use the bathroom. I didn't hear them come in but grandpa got them all snuggled into the bed upstairs to sleep for a while longer. 

grandson J made this SPECIAL card for the birthday girl

 Sunday afternoon we went to our youngest granddaughters 4th birthday party. Her parents have a condo on a golf course and had the party in their back yard. It was a nice, family gathering. My daughter and her family were there also, so I got to see more of my grands :-)
I LOVE this birthday cake made of cupcakes

some of my grands enjoying the cake

the 2 girls are 4, the 2 on the right are my daughters children

the birthday girl loves to dance-notice the new shoes
 Hubby, SIL, and bff's hubby golfed 9 holes while the rest of us played with the kids and visited. I talked to another couple who love to read and share my love of the Nookcolor.
my oldest grandchild and grandson J play badminton

everyone played games with the kids, grandson S doesn't like to sit still 
This week I have to get ready for my 9 year old granddaughters visit with us. Ava is a dear: very easy going and loves to clean....I may keep her! I do have an adult event upcoming....book club on tuesday! Yay!!!! eating out and adult discussion.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

It's Worldwide Hoot Day

What in the world is Worldwide Hoot Day????  According to the Red Hat Society it is: "Hoot" is our word for an unstructured and extremely informal gathering of RHS Members. It's usually a one day event.

Our group didn't have a 'hoot' but we did have a city-wide picnic this week with members from all the local groups in Two Rivers attending! Well, they called it a picnic....Even though the weather was beautiful it was held indoors. Why?

  • what if it rains?
  • it might be too windy to hang the decorations
  • maybe it will be too hot
My thoughts are that the older ladies want to be in a controlled environment. But me? I don't think it's a picnic if it's inside! As an alternative if it rains it is necessary but when the weather permits Why sit inside??? In previous years we've been at a park, I prefer the one in the middle of town so we are visible....good publicity, ya know?

When the weather is nice I like to be outside! I'm glad we don't have a/c because I like to have my windows and doors open. When I lived in a house where I closed the drapes at night the first thing I did in the morning was to open them.   .....just sayin'

The 'picnic' is usually a good time.....We played a game to get us to mingle, but I wasn't in the mood to mingle...so I didn't.

 I did add some purple 'hi-lights' to my hair for the occasion and wore my best (and only) feather earrings.

The food for the event is catered in and it was tasty! and bountiful! We divided into teams and played a game where you had to open a caramel while wearing work gloves. Some gals had theirs open in no time, not me.
.

 Guess my favorite game was Pin the Feather on the Hat. It's always funny to watch people do that.

Tomorrow I am going to a real picnic- birthday party for my 4 year old granddaughter. It should be fun!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

I shopped, I saved, I baked cookies.....


It's been a cloudy, rainy day today....but not too dark and dreary. At times it has actually been rather bright outside.......whoa, it's DARK right now. Could be a good thundershower rolling in. It's been raining all day and we do need it so I don't think anyone is complaining. 'Cept maybe my hubby 'cuz he knows it will make the lawn grow and he doesn't like yard work. Too bad for him!
all those black clouds I mentioned earlier dumped on us
Shopko had a good sale today so I went to get some 'chairs in a bag' and a new DVD player for the kids room. I couldn't get the chairs yesterday when I was there because the sale started today. Looks like everyone else had the same idea- school supplies, school clothes, and end of season summer items were being carted out as I entered. 
Of course, I had to stop at the thrift store...and here's what I got today: 
*never used Mosaic House Number Tile Kit (originally $14.99 at Hobby Lobby)
*2 magazines (I like to buy previously read mags...the price is much more reasonable)
*boys long sleeve navy shirt
*Red Hat cardigan sweater (dressier than the sweatshirts I usually wear in winter)
....all for a grand total of....drum roll........$3.47. I was tickled! A Red Hat sweater for $1.00??? Guess I just hit it right today. Yesterday, on my way home from work, I stopped at a 'boy' garage sale and picked up a coupld of things for the boys. I called my SIL and she stopped there too. The family had only boys and the items were priced quite reasonably. I really haven't been to many rummage sales this summer, I just don't need anything. Actually, I want to get rid of stuff. 
My bff is having a garage sale tomorrow (I hope the rain stops) so I took a box of VHS movies and rubber stamps, and a small box of miscellaneous items over there. No big ticket items....but maybe I'll make a couple of $.
I wanted to bake cookies today and use up some cereal crumbs so I googled and found this recipe: Hearty Oatmeal and Bran Chocolate Chip Cookies. I'll save the recipe an make them again. The cookie jar is full, I am anxious to see how it will look tomorrow morning when I get up (after hubby watches TV tonight and packs his lunch for work).
I'm off work tomorrow! Woo Hoo, can life get any better????