This is for the birds!

 Literally!  Remember when I asked you what to do with all those "snippets" of yarn I had leftover from projects?  Well, most of you said to put them out for the birds to take and use for nesting material...so I did!  I have an empty birdfeeder I used in my back yard but I have to go out and pick it up once a day because they do come and take one strand but others stick to them and fall off on the ground.  I just keep putting it back up there and hopefully I'll spot some pretty yarn in some area nests one day!  Thanks for the tip!

 I made another loaf of my no-knead bread today....easy peasy and it tastes like sourdough.  I love it and it makes the best toast too.

 Isn't this a gorgeous plant?  It's huge too and I have several clumps of it in my yard much to the chagrin of my neighbors I'm sure.  I think it's ragweed but I'm not allergic to it and I think it's beautiful AND it's my favorite color.  It just glows!

 Remember that big bunch of bananas I got for .70?  Our little grocery store here in town sells stuff that's not "prime" at really low prices and I grab what I can.  This time it was bananas that I peel, smash, and freeze for banana bread or any recipe that calls for banana.

I just smashed them up with a fork and there are still chunks which I like in my recipes.

I had enough for 3 recipes of banana bread and a little more.  You could put it in smoothies too.  I think I'm like a squirrel gathering nuts for Winter.  Get that larder full!

The "city workers" were here the other day.......... they do this once or twice a year right in my front lawn.

  That cement piece is where the city water connects to my house.  I was brushing my teeth and low and behold no water and the girls were barking like crazy so I looked out and there they were....4 or 5 of them with one in a front loader making a mess and scratching their heads.  The water came on about an hour later and then this morning when I was brushing my teeth it happened again!  But they weren't in my yard so they must have gone to dig up someone else's yard!  This is how they leave it too....no smoothing out or anything.  I called city hall this morning after the water was out for over 3 hours.   They said there was a leak somewhere and they were trying to find it.  I told them this happens at least twice every year and is there a reason they can't fix it once and for all.  I got my answer........we have little earthquakes and also this year because it was so dry the earth shifts and knocks the pipes out of alignment causing leaks.  Pipes in the South aren't buried very deep...(thank goodness or my front lawn would look like a gravel pit!).   I do understand though because I have cracks inside the house and also the caulk next to the foundation has cracked and separated for the same reason.  Maybe those townhouses and condominiums aren't such a bad idea after all.

On a brighter note....the flowers are really making a comeback and they sure make me smile with their bright shining faces!  Hope you had a wonderful Wednesday!

Terrific Tuesday & book reviews!

 

This book is AWESOME!   It is non-fiction and was written in 2008.  I got it used and it is a signed copy by the authors...who knew?  If you are in any way interested in being more self-sufficient without "buying the farm" literally.....this is the book for you!  It is a reference and will never leave my greedy little book hands...ever!  That's how much I love it!

This book covers what you would probably have to find in about 20 present day books on the market.  It has it all....from raising chickens to using grey water and all the information on how to do it but inexpensively and easily even if you live in the city.  These 2 are just normal, every day people trying to do their part to save the planet and their money at the same time.   I hope they got an award for this book because they deserve it!  Well done Kelly and Erik!!!!!  Thank you!!!!

This is the 2nd book in the series of the 3 I have read.  It is a good series but I'm not that into magic and sorcery or young romance but if you are this is the series for you!  The three books in the series I've read are very well written and have good plot development.  Why did I read 3 of them if I don't care for it you might ask?  Well, I bought the first book and it was the 3rd in the series then a friend of mine bought the first 2 and we swapped.  So, that's how I came to read 3 and they were about a yarn shop owner and knitter/spinner which is right up my alley.  I just won't buy anymore as my focus is on going through my books and reading what I have right now.  You've heard of EXTREME sports.....I'm on an EXTREME budget and one part of that budget is not to buy any books I don't absolutely have to have in my possession......that alone will be hard enough.  

 I hope you had a great Tuesday....I'm getting lots done and feeling really good about it and my reward is..... a new season of my favorite shows....Dancing With the Stars, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Castle, The Middle, Modern Family.....I don't have cable and now I don't care!  Go budget!

Sick in the head!

I'm sorry I've been so sporadic and unreliable with my blog but the emotional turmoil in my head and heart dealing with a very serious issue in my family had me "down for the count" this past weekend.  I finally just gave in to the tears, the frustration, the injustice and I hate feeling like that as I am usually very positive but it was very cleansing evidently because I got up this morning and felt uplifted and encouraged and hopeful for the first time in days.  Evidently God must have sensed I needed some help.  People think I am very strong and I am but where does the strong person go?  Straight to her knees!

But I mowed the lawn today, made bread, cleaned up the house, did laundry and I'm not finished!  Plus, Dancing With The Stars starts tonight and I think Castle? I feel wonderful and it just amazes me that these awesome miracles take place in my life every day!  Speaking of miracles...here's some pics of my 2 BFF's 
This was before I mowed, they were laying out in the back yard side by side keeping  a careful watch  on the neighborhood!
 Here's Serenity (Nitty) in all her confirmational glory....I think she's beautiful........

 and of course I can't forget little Miss Annie.....neither of them will face the camera...EVER!  They really don't like having their picture taken at all!

If you notice I don't have collars on my girls.  It stems from my farm days of not wanting them to get caught on anything....same with my horses, nothing on them.  Of course when we walk then we have collars and leashes but at home.... nada.  They stay in their yard....I've trained them....many hours of running after them at first but it pays off later.  People have asked me if there's buried wire and I tell them nope...they're just super dogs! 

I also washed a few windows and cleaned part of the bathrooms today....I think I just worked that "angst" right out of me!  I finished a couple books this past week too so stop by tomorrow for the reviews!  Thank you all for not giving up on me!  I promise to get a new banner done too.....I went right past Summer and need a Fall one now.  Hope you had a great day and a wonderful weekend.  Did any of you watch the Emmy's  last night?  Oh, and "Da Bears" won yesterday!  Yippee!  TTYS!

Wonderful Wednesday...................

I promised you that I would share some websites/blogs from the book Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey.  I thought first I would feature Tara since she has her own blog but evidently she doesn't anymore so scratch that one.  I will intersperse these links with pics of my flowers which have "returned" since the rain and the cooler temps.  I tried getting pictures of the blogs but there are copyrights on them and also they would not let me...I tried! I guess these are "professional" bloggers! LOL!
 First up then is Dear Daisy Cottage which is Kim McCole and she DOES have the cutest yellow cottage and lives in Florida.  Unfortunately, her last entry was May 2011 but she has 3 years of archives that are worth going through.  She is a great vintage decorator among other things.
 BTW....does anyone know what this flower is below?  It started coming up in my yard and I love it but I have no idea what it is. 

 Okay.....next blogger is Lisa Tutman Oglesby and she has a crafting blog with tutorials on just about everything.  Her current post is about props for your photos and what a great post it is!  I need so much help with my photos.  Once you see her banner though you will see that she "does it all".  I can't wait to go back and read her archives!
Below are my garlic chives in bloom....whew!  I thought I might have lost them this summer as I forgot to water them.  I love TOUGH plants....the kind that flourish despite my neglect! LOL!

This next blogger is not for me but so many of you love anything French that I am including her.  It is said to be "a beautiful and inspiring blog about American Corey Amaro's life in France".  I don't know why all that French stuff doesn't do anything for me but it just doesn't.....I don't care for furs, diamonds or chocolate either.  I think I must be missing a gene.  Okay, I like some chocolate but I'm not over the moon about it like they portray most women.  I don't even care for candy much at all.....now cookies....that's a whole other story and don't even get me started on ice cream! LOL!
 Anyway, her blog is www.willows95988.typepad.com 

Below is my brown-eyed Susan vine which just about didn't make it.  I have it in a pot and I think the poor little roots got fried this Summer but here she comes....another survivor!  Love her!

 

This last blog is color heaven and is a quilting and fabric blog by Malka Dubrawsky.  It says she's a business woman so evidently she makes her living at this and she has a gorgeous book published that will be going on my book list for sure!  Check her out at A Stitch In Dye

Below is Monkey Grass in bloom!

What else did I get done today?   Not much...the girls and I took our 3 mile hike, cleaned up the house, made bread dough for bread later tonight and now I'm getting ready to clean the bathrooms.  I guess I don't really get wound up until about noon! Ha! Ha!  I am really more like a slug but I keep plugging away at it all.  I hope you enjoy some of these blogs and bloggers if not all of them!  Have a great evening and thank you always for your comments....I cherish them!

 

Terrific Tuesday!

 What a great day here....70's, blue skies, nice breeze.....all the windows open!  Heaven!  I got some little "niggling" projects done today too........remember this one with the notebooks?  Done!

 

The items inside are all in plastic sleeves and I can remove them when I need them but the sleeves will protect them hopefully during the life of a project.

One of  my blogging girlfriends, Tammy of T's Daily Treasures asked me to show her my cross stitch.  I had misplaced it along with my applique.  That seems to happen every time I clean!  What's up with that?  But I finally unearthed it and so here it is........that little gold stitching is all I have done.  I haven't cross stitched in years and I've never used that plastic like material that will dissolve or tear away when I'm done (hopefully). It is basted onto the material that was provided in the kit.

The rest of the design is printed on it and it came with the Cath Kidson book Stitch that I purchased awhile back.  It also came with a zipper and is supposed to end up as a little purse.

This is a great book with lots of awesome projects!  Wish me luck!

My financial life has been like a bell curve.....poor when young, saving and building up some financial security in middle age and then the "golden years"...where I got sick and Wall Street, savings, real estate all went to heck along with my savings.  So, without time or energy to have a "do-over" I am back budgeting and trying to stretch the few dollars I have left.  God knows I love a challenge so I dug out my old budgeting books to revisit and redo.  It's easy to move up in the world but it's lots harder to scale back and readjust but I am determined to live within my means and still be able to pay for my expensive meds! LOL!  No retirement junkets for me!  But I am happy and healthy (except for my chronic diseases of which I am holding my own) and I am so blessed!

Pay no attention to those numbers....it's a sample worksheet! LOL!

Here I go...........again..........wish me luck! LOL!

This is the book I am using...very basic but very concise and to the point.  I'm not even sure if they publish it anymore but they should.....it should be taught in the schools!

 

I finished another book which was informative and interesting because it listed LOTS of famous and wonderful bloggers and their blogs.  Stay tuned tomorrow as I will be having Wonderful Wednesday's which will be similar to my Sunday Spins that I used to do.  I will be featuring the blogs from the book so you too can visit them for yourself!   

 I hope you had a great day where ever you are!  See you tomorrow!

 

Miscellaneous Monday!

Here we are again..........Monday for me is cleaning,  cooking, changing the sheets and doing laundry and ironing.  I did get laundry done and I took a bath when I got up this morning and I was brushing my teeth and all of a sudden there was no water.   The girls had been barking but like I said I was trying to brush my teeth.  I looked outside and "sure nuff"  there was a front loader in my front yard digging away with about 4 or 5 people watching.  They do this every year...sometimes twice. "They" being the city workers in the town I live in.  Specifically city water workers.  There's a leak and they fix it and it breaks again and they fix it and yada yada yada.  They never call and warn me, they don't even knock on my door.  Why they can't fix it once and be done with it I don't know and why it is always my front yard and no one elses?  I don't complain as I would be a "marked woman" in this town as if I'm not already.   So,  that's how I started my day but the water was back on soon and I got on with my chores.    No, I never called and complained....what's the point....they do what they want anyway and if you complain they take your name and number.

The lawn mower man called and said he had my tire ready so he came over, changed the tire and pumped up the other ones and checked them.  It was only $115.00 including labor, tire and all.  I need to get the chimney sweep over here too and he's usually $75.00.....going to be a pricey month.....probably won't be adding to my yarn stash much if at all.
I did some cleaning and cleared off this little bookcase and will be moving it out of the hallway....where I don't know but it doesn't belong in the hallway.

Then it was on to the "fun" stuff...............removing caulk outside.......see that ugly white "stands out like a sore thumb" old caulk?  Finally, I got some good advice from a wonderful gal who just happens to have the same name as me and has a blog called Sawdust and Paperscraps and she told me about a You tube video on how to remove silicone caulk using a product in a spray can (it's a strong chemical and you must use gloves...the right kind too!) and after you spray you leave it on for 24 hours and then (with gloves on) you scrape it all off and you're ready to apply the new stuff.  Now, I hate using chemicals but there is no way I'm going to be able to get this fixed if I don't so I'll be looking for "the stuff".  The brand on the You Tube video was Unibond but he said there are all types.  Then why didn't my local hardware store know about it?
I always "assume" people know more than I do about things but I am really beginning to wonder!?!?!?

Isn't that ugly?  Why didn't they use clear?  Which is what is going to replace it!  Thanks Sandra from Sandpaper and Paperacraps!  She is so talented and awesomely brave when it comes to DIY projects and she always answers questions.  Please check her out and You Tube also!
Sorry there were no "pretty" pictures today but this is a real life blog and it isn't always pretty! LOL!
Hope you had a great Monday!

YOP Update!

I have a turned a corner in my knitting....literally!  I turned the heel! And I 'm working on the gusset now.  The knitting angels were with me this week for sure!

 Can you see the cuff and then the curved heel????  Can you?  I am simply amazed at myself! LOL!  By next week I may have frogged it all and started over but every time I get a little farther and one of these days I may actually have a SOCK!  It will be a red-letter day for sure!
I worked on another potholder in boy colors for my cooker son.  I'll make another...a set of 2 for Christmas.  He doesn't read my blog so not to worry, he won't see it.

 I have a question for you who have knitted forever or close.............I've been sticking all my yarn "snipets" into this jar and saving them but I'm wondering if there is anything I can use them for or am I just being a pack rat?  I hate to throw them out if there might be a use for them but they're such small pieces I can't come up with anything but using them for stuffing something small.  Any ideas or should I just pitch them? 

For those of you who like to coordinate your reading and your needlework, I am reading a series of mysteries about a sorceress in training who owns a yarn shop in Sugar Maple, MA.  This is the second book in the series and yes, it is important you read them in order.  I read the 3rd one 1st and was thoroughly confused!  There are many more too.  They are good I'm just not sure I want to read about sorcery and magic...I'm such a realist.

Last, I found these "pencil cases" at Dollar General for $1 each and they have clear plastic fronts that allow you to see what's inside.  They also have rings for fitting inside a notebook.  I have been looking at expensive project cases in knitting magazines etc.   Granted these would not work for anything big but I think a sock in progress, cross stitch, potholder project would definitely fit and you can see what's inside plus it's only a dollar!  What do you have to lose?   Run quickly to your local Dollar General before they're all gone!

I hope you all had and have a great week!  I have been pretty involved lately in other projects but still striving for the ever elusive "balance in all things".  The weather has forced me to go outside and attend to all the things I didn't get done outside this Summer because of the heat.  Hugs to you and success in ALL your endeavors!

another gorgeous day...one right after the other!

I'm getting lots done FINALLY!  But yet the days just fly by....what's up with that?  It seems I get up, have breakfast, get the mail and before I know it the 5 o'clock news is on and then it's time for bed! LOL!

 Did I tell you I made a big pot of split pea and ham soup?  The ham bone was so big though and you had to cover with water well, then it ended up I had to go buy more peas!  It's really good though and very economical.  I'm thinking some of this will get frozen!  There's a lot of soup there for 1 person!

 

I'm just about to the point on my sock(s) where I was when I messed up last time so say a little prayer that I get farther along this time! LOL!  I am determined to knit socks and lots of them! 

I did make a coaster after I finished the potholder....I just put the potholder in so you could see the size difference....still loving that pattern and I pretty much have it memorized now.

 I started another potholder...one of a set of 2 that will go to my "cooking" son for Christmas.  I think he will like this colorway.

The African Violet is still unfurling!  It has more ruffles than a petticoat!

I finally got the lawn mowed today too and I came in and took a bath and had my "jammies" on by 5:00 p.m.!  I'm bushed.....nighty night!  I hope you all had a wonderful day where you are!

Another gorgeous but busy day..............here's some great websites!

I'm working on financial stuff, laundry, and ran to the store today so this is a miscellaneous post.....my real life! LOL!  The lawnmower guy just left and loaned me his John Deere tire because he said a new tire for my riding Deere would cost $170!!!!!!  Do you believe it?  I don't pay that much for tires for my Tahoe and they're LOTS bigger!  He said he's going to look for another "less expensive" tire but it probably won't be John Deere yellow.....I don't care if it's purple as long as it doesn't cost $170.00!!!!!  Whoa Nellie...I won't be buying another John Deere that's for sure!

I meant to tell you the other day about some neat websites I've discovered.  One is The Cozy Mystery  site....I love this site!

This site has everything you would want if you're a mystery lover!  They are listed by title, by author, by location, by hobby, by type.....you name it, this site allows you to find the perfect mystery for you!  Cozy mystery, that is.
Another couple good sites are The Pine Needle Quilt Shop which is where I used to shop when I lived in Iowa and they carry LOTS of quilting, cross stitching and other yummy things.  Next is The Golden Thimble  which houses the Quilting Clubhouse which has free patterns, recipes, and free BOM groups...AMAZING and it's FREE!  And last but not least is.....Chickadee Hollow Designs 
which is an online shop that has kits and patterns for smaller and miniature quilts and embroidery projects.  I love this sight!  I think I am getting in the sewing mood with Fall coming and holidays looming.  I love to make handmade items for gifting.  I hope you enjoy them! 
My prayers and hopes go out to the 9/11 families, survivors,  and all those who aided in the rescue efforts and those that are watching from above....at least this year Osama Bin Laden is gone.  I hope they get some solace from that.  We will never forget any of you....you will ALWAYS be in our prayers.

OMG it's so beautiful out....perfect weather for walking!

  The girls I took out again walking today..........here's what we discovered and saw.............

 

Some moss...........but so much had died off during the drought but the last rain is greening everything back to life!

 But some things didn't make it................

a geode..........

the dried up creek bed..................

plenty of dry kindling to collect for Winter...........

wild asters?

Yellow!!!!

the strangest weed I've ever seen.............

remnants of a mini forest fire that was put out not too far from me...thank goodness!

a poplar I think.....I love to watch their leaves in the wind as they sparkle!

some berries for the birds are coming back just in time for Winter..........

I think these are juniper berries....they're the prettiest grayish blue....cloud colored..........

homeward bound..............

I hope you enjoyed this glorious day where ever you are!