Look what I got in the mail!

No, not a raven but here is your little bit of Daily Halloween........these happen to be my screen savers free from Microsoft

 This is what came in the mail............Alicia Paulson's Night Before Christmas Ornament Kit

Here are the instructions and templates.....

  The supplies.......

 and a sweet little card from Alicia...........

Now, I'm off to do a little Saturday "crafting"!  What are you up to this fine Saturday?  It's cold, wet, and windy here.....perfect for curling up with a hot cup of tea and doing some handwork.

Happy Trails!

The rains have arrived but before that I did a little outside decorating..........

 I started with the front door........

then I moved outside........

I can't stop taking pictures of my gorgeous mums...........

Then I had this "hair-brained" idea to do this..............
I don't really like it though.  Those are battery operated lights with the battery case underneath the galvanized can........I fiddled with that darn piece of driftwood for 2 hours!  I had to pile rocks on it to get it situated properly.  But by the time I decided I didn't like it.............

 

storm clouds were gathering so I left it.......

I did manage to get the mail box covered with this magnetic bit of Fall that I used to use on the farm mail box.......

there are a few color changes taking place with more on the way I'm sure....

It stormed last night and luckily the girls were able to get outside this morning before it started raining again.  We have flash flood warnings and it's supposed to rain on and off for the next 3 days with possible severe weather on Monday.  I came in and made some molasses cookies

and plugged in my fiber optic scarecrow! LOL!

After the storm later when I was in bed reading....the moon came out from behind the clouds so I ran out in my pj's and took some pictures but only one turned out decent
and didn't nearly reflect the beauty I was seeing with my own eyes............

I hope you have a great Friday and weekend too!  Happy Trails!

Fall....how I love you! Let me count the ways........

I don't think I told you but one night Nitty was barking ...alot...which she doesn't do very often but I was in bed reading and she had already been out so I told her to lay down and paid her no mind.  Well, this is what I get for not listening to my "lead" guard dog!

 If you can't tell what that is...it is dirt in the shape of an old porcelain sink that I had sitting there with what used to be flowers in it.  Someone had dumped it and taken the sink and Nitty tried to tell me but I didn't listen!  You can bet I will from now on!  Why someone would want that old sink is beyond me....I got it free at the junk yard and there's plenty more where that one came from.  Anyone have a clue?  
 

 I'd been meaning to work on this area as soon as it cooled off a bit so yesterday I did! 

I hauled 6 bags of rock/pebbles and some of those concrete blocks you see in the front there.  I thought I'd be sore this morning but not a bit!  I was so happy that I can still "lift and tote".  I did have a doctor comment once that I had really strong back muscles.  Now, if I could just transfer a few of them to my stomach! LOL!
This area had been covered with mulch more than once and the constant replacement cost and also the fact that it bleached out and looked terrible had me turning to pebbles.  I had also had some plastic edging to keep the mulch from washing down the drive way but that didn't work out either so I went to the concrete blocks.  I'll probably put containers out there for flowers but no sinks! LOL!  There's a solar fountain there but it doesn't work anymore either....I swear!  I spent good money on products that didn't last so from now on I make do with what I have.  Another thing is that I can't get any more landscaping supplies now that the weather is just getting perfect for working outside because Walmart stops carrying them in August!  Geez Louise!  I'll have to save my money this winter and buy a whole bunch come Spring to last me until Fall. Also, the same brand of rocks I bought the first time were tan colored and the new ones are more gray.  Huh?  Where's quality control when you need them?  
I managed to hang the ghosts out too.  I hope no one takes them!

Nitty was keeping an eye out................

along with her trusty sidekick, Annie

I shook and washed rugs yesterday too as we are supposed to get rain straight for like 3-5 days starting tonight and if you've ever tried to shake rugs during a rain storm you'll understand why...lol!
I didn't get any pictures of the lunar eclipse but I snapped these last night..........

 It was a gorgeous evening and I hated to go inside..........I wish I had a better camera or could it be the photographer?  See "the man in the moon"?  Yep, he was out there last night too!

I'm off to do some serious cooking and baking and there's "that kitchen project" too!  What are you up to today?
Happy Trails!

 

The race is on!

Every day I will be sharing something "creepy" to get you in the mood for Halloween.  No, I did not take this picture last night during the lunar eclipse or rather very early this morning.  I would usually go out to see it but we had storms that kept me awake the night before so I was pretty tired out!
I am progressing slowly on the kitchen...basically it looks to be a room a month while still maintaining a life.  Here's my first cupboard.  It was filled with canning jars so I am packing them away in boxes and putting in the basement.  They don't need to take up precious cabinet space.

I cleaned the outside of the refrigerator (actually, I'm so old I still refer to it as an icebox).  I got rid of all the magnets and most of what they were holding was outdated anyway.  I have 2 whiteboards for a weekly "to do" list and an ongoing grocery list and a magnetic towel holder.  This frig is 40 years old and still runs great.  It's a Frigidaire and if I wait just bit longer it should be coming back in style.  It's the almond color that was so "in" years ago.  I like it but then I like older things.

I also cleaned and removed a red little step stool that was on the right of this little stove.  I am moving the stove somewhere....porch maybe?  It is cast iron and heavy as all get out so I will need to get those moving sliders underneath it.  I'd like to fill it with battery operated candles on a timer and make it look like a fake wood burner. LOL!  We'll see how one more of my "hair-brained" ideas works.

Last week I made ham and bean soup and corn muffins and today I'm making a pork loin roast and some kind of pumpkin dessert I think.

I finished a few books this week...........finally! I loved this one and there is a sequel that I plan on ordering..........
it was about a 16 year old homesteader taken from real events pieced together from various journals.

I know this was made into a movie and it was supposed to be wonderful but I didn't care for it and slogged through it.  I think part of it is because at my age you know how tragic life is and you really don't want to dwell on that part of it.  I have a little too much empathy and it can leave a scar on me that appears in my dreams and haunts me throughout my day.  Although this wasn't a graphic book about the holocaust...it was close enough and to pick up a book each night reminding you of those awful, horrific events is not peaceful for going off to dreamland.  So, at my age I would prefer to read about happier events.  I realize we never want to forget and who could?  But on the other hand I can't deal with the constant reminder either.

I read another book my daughter brought me and this was the other extreme.  It was a children's book but this time it was a little too young for me.  But I know why she gave it to me as it mentions Iowa and the specific towns where we lived and the Hawkeyes! LOL!  It was a cute story though.  There's another one about the Button family that I will read some other time.

I am presently reading this very old book.....it's fiction and a little different...I'll reserve my judgement until I am done.  It's not what I thought it would be though....I'll say that.

And for my non-fiction I'm back to reading this one..........

As for handwork.....it's slow as I am doing the kitchen and trying to work outside..........and today I must start decorating for Halloween in and out and also making ornaments and such for the grands to mail for Halloween.
I'm about a day behind on my 3 rows a day for the blanket..........

 and I finished the heal flap and the gusset on my 2nd sock so I am now heading down the stretch towards the toe!  But I need to put it down and work on Christmas presents!  Only 12 weeks left?  Heaven help me!

Happy Trails!