A little chilly

Remember the teapot planter Sarah gave me for my birthday? Well, I found a geranium a couple of weeks ago and thought it would be cute.

And it was - until a couple of days ago. The weather turned cool (cold for here) a few nights ago. We actually turned our heat on Sunday night. Anyway - the cold got the better of the geranium. Found this picture so I thought I would show it. (I haven't taken a pic of what it looks like now - poor thing) I'll stick it in the garage and see if it makes a come-back. The vincas out front are still hanging in though!

I'm still decking the halls. The trees are all done but my house looks like a train wreck.


This is something I worked on before Thanksgiving. I'll show ya what I did with it next time.

Popping back in

I'm back! This week might be 'hit and miss' since I'm decking the halls!

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. We had a nice weekend with the boys. (although hubby and I both had colds all weekend - I still have that scratchy throat thing going on - very frustrating!)

I'm posting a few pics for Terry (no blog) today.


I ordered some vinyl from here the week before the girlfriends came for the quilt show. It arrived the day before the girlfriends did so I was able to get it applied before they got here. I ordered the sugar and flour set (it also comes with one for powdered sugar but I don't have a canister for that so I put it aside in case I want to use it later)


I also ordered one for the pantry door. I would love to replace this door with a pretty glass door but there is storage attached to the inside of the door and I use every inch of it so since that wouldn't be practical soI thought I would shoot for prettying it up a bit. (sorry for the crooked pic)


I read the information which said it should be applied to smooth surfaces - my doors are textured but I was willing to take the chance and it worked just fine. I think it adds 'just enough'.

In other news - could you keep my friend, Sarah, and her husband, Joe, in your prayers. (Sarah is one of 'the girlfriends'). Joe had a heart attack yesterday. Thankfully he was at home when it happened and they got him to the hospital quickly. I talked to Sarah this morning - he is doing well and should be released by Wednesday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to take a minute to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

The (two oldest) boys will be here later today so I have already been cooking. (don't want to feel so rushed in the morning) Got a pecan pie cooling and my broccoli/rice casserole in the fridge ready to bake in the morning. (and made an extra to put in the freezer so I'm one up on Christmas!) I've washed up all the dishes and I'll be heading back down in a minute to make a batch of cookies (oldest kidlet doesn't like pecan pie) It will just be the four of us so I don't want to over-do it with the desserts. (I would then be forced to eat whatever is left over)

As for 'black Friday' - we will be hanging around the house! Depending on the weather we might work on outside Christmas lights, then again, maybe not. We will not be out waiting in line for stores to open at midnight! Nothing about that appeals to me in the least. In fact, if I could manage to not have to go in any store between Thanksgiving and Christmas that would be fine with me.

Well - I'm off to make cookies!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A birthday fly-by

Just wanted to pop in and wish baby boy (and his bride) a happy birthday!
Missed posting on Ashley's birthday (two weeks ago today) because the girlfriends were here and we were at the quilt festival. I didn't want to let today slip by without wishing them both happy birthday! (fuzzy pic - had to crop out of a group shot as I didn't get one of just them together when they were here. Hate it when that happens!)

Back to my break.

I really had a hard time deciding what to post today. I almost didn't make a post at all but I didn't want to just disappear. I'm going to take a blogging break. There is a lot of stuff going on (nothing to blog about and certainly nothing fun) and I just think I need a little break.

I was trying to juggle some appointments this morning and when I looked at the calendar I was shocked to see that Thanksgiving is next week! Seriously, I thought it was two weeks away. Yes, I think it is time for a break.


So, before I take off for a bit, I thought I would show you a little of my fall decor. (this is in the kitchen)


I put the Halloween stuff away.


Like I said before, I try to stick with 'fall' instead of Halloween or Thanksgiving for the most part.


This little table is in the bay window in the breakfast room. I'm debating leaving it there or moving it somewhere else - where is the biggest question!


In the dining room


We will actually eat in here on Thanksgiving - so far, we have only used this room for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since there are only the four of us we don't have to spread out and use both tables. (we will miss baby boy and his bride but hopefully we can share a little 'face time'!)


I need to take a picture of this hutch from the dining room so you can see where it is. It is actually in the entry, but across from the dining room.


I am sure I'll be reading (and hopefully commenting some) while I take my little break. You all keep me company in the mornings while I have my coffee, and in the afternoons if I take a break (like right now, I'm waiting for paint to dry) and just here and there when I sit for a few minutes. I'll be back after Thanksgiving - by then it will be time to decorate for Christmas! Ack!

Snowy stitching

I have been getting a little stitching done.


It would go a lot faster if I didn't have to stitch it twice! (I've done parts of the tree twice)
I'm stitching over two on 30ct with one strand of floss - trying to decide if I like the way it is looking.

Turned cold (for here) last night. Dinner tonight - beef stew! (already in the crock pot!)

Have a great weekend!

Two for one

Two 'reality shots' for today


#1 - How much paper does it take to fix one insurance goof? (which btw, was NOT MY goof) In addition to all the paper I had to use the iPad to look up the insurance agent's phone number (seriously - have you seen a Houston phone book?) You would think the least they could do when they send that much paper is include a phone number. Umm, no. Glasses because I can't see, two phones - because I can't ever remember my home phone number so I either have to give my cell as a call back number or look up the home number on the cell.


#2 - Notice anything here? No picture on the tv - why? Because I had to reset the dvr (second time this week) To reset the dvr I have to move the wooden box that hides all the cords - I just leave it on the floor until I'm sure it is going to 'take' (sometimes it takes more than one reboot) Pliers because the old HDMI cable broke on one of the many reboots that have taken place in the last year. So much fun. (I finally ordered a new HDMI cable - now I need to put the pliers away). I miss TiVo.

Pop over to Mockingbird Hill Cottage and see who else is posting reality shots to day.

Tomorrow, stitching pics!

I forgot one

When I was showing my quilt show goodies yesterday I forgot one - I already had it hanging on the front door. I made this banner a year (or two - I forget) ago but I couldn't find a hanger for it so I painted a dowel rod and used a piece of ribbon to hang it on the door. Last year at the show I looked for a hanger but couldn't find one the right size.


This year I found one! The first day we went - in fact this was one of my first purchases. (naturally I found several after I bought this one - for less $$ but oh well!) Eventually I'll get around to making a couple of banners for other seasons but so far this one is pretty lonely. And yes, I need to find a smaller suction cup since this is not heavy but the last thing I had hanging there and my Christmas wreath need the larger one so. . .


This is the flower pot Sarah brought me (belated b'day) I was going to put a plant in it before I showed it but the weather didn't co-operate with me yesterday and today I'm dealing with the insurance company. I hate dealing with insurance companies - I don't care what kind it is, their main goal seems to be to keep you so confused you just give up. Argh.
My green Ikea table has faded over the summer - I'll be giving it a spray pick-me-up come spring time!
I have done a little stitching this week - I'll show pics on Friday (because tomorrow is reality Thursday!)
Have a great day!

Quilt show goodies

I really didn't buy too much at the quilt show this year, or at least compared to previous years I didn't. :)


It sure did feel like more when I was toting it around. I won't go into specifics on all of it because some of it might just be gifts - or used in gifts. Won't say if it will be this Christmas or next, but anyway. The bundle of fabric at the top right was a gift from one of the girlfriends and not one of my purchases.


These babies are all mine! I'm going to put the fob with the rotary cutter on my rotary cutter (brilliant, I know) and the other two may go on these scissors or on some of the other 'nekkid' scissors I have hanging around.


Here is a pic of the gift fabric with another bundle I already had in my stash. Not bad, huh?


I picked up this cutie at a shop we went to on Saturday (yes, I know, we had just spent two days at the quilt festival and we hit up more shops!) This was the only purchase I made there and it was in the sale room - $2.00. I just couldn't leave it behind!

We have a 'cold front' moving in - not actually supposed to start raining until later today but it is looking pretty dark out there right now and I can hear thunder. Wonder if I will have to give up my crop pants and flip flops before the end of the day?

A great time!

The girlfriends came Wednesday afternoon and stayed until late Saturday. We had such a great time. I really wish we could do it more often!


They brought me a pot of flowers - aren't they great? (ignore the neglected flower bed)


Of course they won't last long - which is why I didn't buy any this year but I'll enjoy them while they last. (cross my fingers and hope for Thanksgiving!) They also brought a small bundle of fabric and a flower pot (belated birthday) which I forgot to take a pic of - I'll try to get that tomorrow)

Anyway - Thursday and Friday we went to the quilt festival. Even after going for the past 6 years (I think that is how many times we have been) it always amazes me how big it is and how many people are there! We saw 'most' of it but I am sure if we went back another day we could have still seen things we missed the first two days. Sometimes the booths are just so jam-packed I just have to skip them. (it can get a bit claustrophobic!) Then on Saturday we did a bit of other shopping before they headed home. Hubby said it was really quiet here yesterday!

I also got to meet one of my blog readers. Terry doesn't have a blog, but she has been a faithful reader of my little blog since the beginning. It was so nice to finally meet her face-to-face! Of course, being the bad blogger that I am, I failed to get pictures.

I'm way behind on reading blogs and even farther behind on housework. I need to catch up on the housework before I catch up on blogs but I'll get there!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Ready and waiting!

I'm all ready for the girlfriends to arrive for their visit!


Guest rooms are ready.


Soup is in the crock pot, baked a cake (which didn't rise to the occasion - I'm blaming it on the oven since it is the first time I've cooked this cake in this oven, hopefully it tastes okay)

Will put a pan of cornbread in the oven later so it will still be hot when they get here.


Picked up the living room. Magazines on the coffee table are all recent!


Vacuumed the dog hair off the sofa.


And this happened as soon as I took the picture! LOL I'll wait until just before they get here to wipe the dog snot off the glass doors, maybe they will stay clean long enough for the girls to get in the door!

I'm going to catch up on a little blog reading while I wait - then I'm going to spend the next few days hanging out with the girlfriends. Will be back next week - have a great weekend!

Better?

I say that with a question mark because both the monitor and migraine are crap shoots.

To be fair, the migraine issue is always a crap shoot - sometimes daily, sometimes I get lucky for a few days. The daily ones are their own game - sometimes I can take a pill and keep on going, other days I just have to take a pill and a nap. I'm glad the hubby was home to greet trick-or-treaters since I really didn't feel up to it.

The monitor seems to come and go - I can auto-correct and sometimes might that helps, sometimes restarting helps. Have a message in to 'tech support' otherwise known as the middle kidlet so will see what he says. (right now some words look nice and crisp - others are fuzzy but the pictures seem fine)


In the meantime, I thought I could show you pics of the pumpkins by the front door.
The urns came from my grandmother's house. It is kinda hard to keep anything living in them since they are so small and need water daily (which I'm not good about) so I keep non-living decor in (or on) them.


I wanted two white pumpkins but real ones were just to pricey for me (nearly 10 bucks each!) so I got some faux ones at Micheal's when they were on sale, and I can use them again next year. They didn't have two white ones that day so I got one white and one green.

Can't see them from the street but that is okay. I have my old shopping cart on the porch too (filled with more faux pumpkins) - I'll show a pic of that later.

Time for me to get back to getting ready for company - they come tomorrow!