My best friend from high school celebrated her 40th birthday this weekend. Shawna (shown middle) also happens to be my sister’s (shown on your left) sister in law. I know, I know. But it’s the south, remember? And how did she celebrate this milestone, you ask? With a real life ho-down square dance —–in a barn. Now you’re starting to be jealous that you don’t live below the Mason-Dixon! It was unbelievably fun. We laughed at old pictures of big hair and blue eye shadow. We learned how to ‘alabama{allemande}-left’ and ‘rip-and-snort’—-that’s square dance lingo for all you northerners reading. And I think the best part was that the teenagers and small children had just as much fun as the adults. Though they probably won’t be as sore tomorrow.
I spent the night with my sister, who lives at the Foothills of the Smoky Mountains and we enjoyed some good food and good fellowship before the party. That’s my brother–in all his Volunteer glory—who, as you may or may not remember, won $25,000 in the Poker World Series this summer.
Sis made these little pumpkin yummies and I took about 53 pictures of them.
The kids had a blast at the square dance. It reminded me of days gone by when this is how ‘we’ entertained ourselves and our youth. Nobody said ‘bored’ —-not even once!
Shawna, Gina, and I and all our girls (minus my little Caiti—who would’ve had a ball). It was so nice to be together again. Happy Birthday Shawna!!
Uncle Mark, who said before we left for the party, “I don’t why this family has to square dance everytime we get together,” seemed to be having more fun than anyone.
My wheels are turning now ’cause Steve and I are renewing our vows this summer and plan to celebrate a little. I may just have to ‘grab my partner and do-si-do’! You gotta love the south!
The Morning After
The cups of coffee I’ve had so far today:
If we’re friends on Facebook or you follow me on Twitter, then you may know that we just purchased a crack pot espresso machine. I’m on a 36 hour bender. And when I crash, it’s not gonna be pretty.
If I hit rock bottom and come begging you for more coffee beans, don’t enable me. As it is, I’m typing 600 words a minute. And Stevie must like me jittery ’cause he just made me another
latte.
Oh, wait here he comes with a mocha. {Pause for a taste—and a longing look into his eyes} Be still my pounding heart.
I promise I’ll cut back. I can control it. Just one more cup. I’ll quit tomorrow.
The evening the machine arrived, we felt compelled to try every last possible combination of
coffee, espresso, milk, half and half, cream, chocolate syrup, and various liquors. I stayed up until 2:30a and was back making espresso at 6:30.
coffee, espresso, milk, half and half, cream, chocolate syrup, and various liquors. I stayed up until 2:30a and was back making espresso at 6:30.
This machine could be my undoing.
It’s a Jura Capresso machine (fully automatic) and uses whole beans. It makes perfect crema and is a refurbished model—which makes it half the price that it would normally be. It may not seem so inexpensive when I’m in the ER for an arrhythmia!
How to Enjoy Carving Pumpkins with Small Children
In my naivete’ as a young mother (many years ago), I would often save the pumpkin carving for Halloween night.
Because small children jacked up on chocolate in layers of netting and green paint isn’t stressful enough.
I’ve since learned that pumpkin carving can be enjoyable—–under the right circumstances.
::And here are those circumstances::
You need not go to a certifiable pumpkin patch. One of our local churches has made their front lawn into what for all intents and purposes is the perfect pumpkin patch. And it’s right in town. There are no farm animals or funny smells. And it’s close to TCBY.
TCBY makes children compliant and agreeable if not down right giddy.
Take your perfect pumpkins home and quickly get those seeds out, wash them thoroughly, removing the stringy mess of pumpkin-stuffs. Preheat your oven to 275 and spread your pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a pan —ready for roasting.
Then sprinkle my new friend ‘Jane’ liberally over the seeds and roast for 45 minutes—shaking the pan periodically to keep them from browning too much on one side. I was introduced to ‘Jane’ by a new blogger friend and I can’t wait for you to meet her on Sunday as she kicks off our 12 Days of Handmade Christmas with a wonderful tutorial. I know, the suspense is killing you.
But you’ll just have to wait.
After they finish roasting, pour them into a bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil and add more Jane’s to taste. Only after you’re enjoying your wonderful–popcorn like- pumkin seeds with a tasty beverage (Mike’s Hard Pink Lemonade for me) may you continue your carving duties. This little treat will have the same effect on you that the TCBY had on the children. Now everyone’s happy and agreeable.
Carving pumpkins has never been so good.
For those of you who aren’t sure how you feel about christians celebrating Halloween, you will enjoy this segment by Jennifer Roback Morse on IssuesEtc. For those of you who would love to poke fun at my southern accent (when I called into to Issues today as they were interviewing Gene Veith about homeschooling), click here.
12 Days of Handmade Christmas {Sweater Stockings} Preview
Welcome to the preview of the 12 Days of Handmade Christmas Tutorials! Join me next Sunday November 1 and meet one of my favorite {new to me} bloggers. It’s a secret until then but you’re gonna love her. To give you a taste of what’s in store, I thought I’d do a tutorial on how to make sweater stockings from old sweaters.
I first saw this lovely idea at an antique store downtown. There are so many things to love about the sweater stocking. You can use old/sentimental/colorful sweaters to make the most lovely and meaningful Christmas stockings. And then embellish them with almost anything you like. There are no rules and no two need be alike.
Start with a stocking whose design you love. I used this one {for the large size}
that I bought at the antique store. Just find a stocking you love and use it as a template.
This particular sweater was one of my favorites {from Gap} for several years and then I accidentally dried it. Its’ colorful stripes are perfect for a stocking.
This particular sweater was one of my favorites {from Gap} for several years and then I accidentally dried it. Its’ colorful stripes are perfect for a stocking.
1. Turn the sweater wrong side out and use the band of the sweater as the top of the stocking. Lay your template down and use a rotary cutter to cut around it leaving about 3/4inch of fabric all the way around for the seam allowance.
2. Sew the stocking {leaving the top open, of course} using about a 1/2 inch seam.
3. The stocking will then look like this. Turn it right side out……
and let one of your sweat shop helpers demonstrate its’ loveliness.
4. Embellish ’til your hearts’ content. The girls and I used felt flower pins and initials for this one. We bought these wood letters at Hobby Lobby and then spray painted them, drilled a hole in the corner and then hung them from the stocking. I used a cut piece of the arm band of the sweater as a ‘hanger’ for the stocking—-but you could use any ribbon or fabric.
Your helper will then proceed to find every old sweater she possibly can
and stockings will begin to take over your life.
She may then have the brilliant idea of using her sentimental baby blanket
to make another gorgeous beauty.
Warning: This activity is highly addictive and may result in a VERY cold winter. Hope you enjoyed and let us know if you make some stockings! No children were harmed in the making of this tutorial.
This is a teaser/sampler of what you can expect during the 12 days of handmade Christmas tutorials that begins next Sunday November 1. I’d love it if you shared this adorable little button on your blog. {Thank you Darcy}.
Any contributors to the ’12 Days’ who haven’t emailed me lately with a post update, please do so. I’m trying to stay kind of organized but it’s not my strong suit.
Any contributors to the ’12 Days’ who haven’t emailed me lately with a post update, please do so. I’m trying to stay kind of organized but it’s not my strong suit.
Love to all and happy crafting! Visit Kimba’s and Kim’s and Kris‘s sites for other fun DIY projects.
Visit here to for the 12 Days of Christmas Tutorials.
Sewing machines, fake greens and fried dough
The sale was supposed to start at 8am. By 7:45, 1/3 of my stuff was gone. Just like that. No time to mourn. No time to reminisce. Just gone. And by 11:30, we were packing up a small load for Goodwill and headed to the local fall festival. It was nearly the perfect yard sale. Caiti might dispute that there is such a thing.
My friend Denise, and her daughter Kelly, came and like a true blogger she strolled up the driveway taking pictures. I finally managed to get a few too but only after the crowd subsided.
In short, I drank too much coffee, ate too much sugar and sold more fake greenery than any person should ever have in their possession. The fake greens ruled the day. Or was it the donuts?
I finally coerced my neighbor Renee to buy my ever-so-eclectic planter. She’s a hard sell. She came back for a second look with her measuring tape and her beautiful daughter Natalie. Natalie must have made her buy it.
And then we were off the fall festival where we saw some talented dancers….
and continued the dietary disaster with chili cheese fries and a funnel cake.
I’m collapsed on the sofa and can’t decide if my headache is from the caffeine, sugar or possibly from the various makes and models of embroidery/sewing machines that are swimming through my head. Should I buy a slightly used Bernina Artista 180 or a brand new lesser model? If you have any advice on which machine I need or would like to comment on the outrageousness of todays’ eats or would like to contemplate buying the last few fake greens,
In short, I drank too much coffee, ate too much sugar and sold more fake greenery than any person should ever have in their possession. The fake greens ruled the day. Or was it the donuts?
I finally coerced my neighbor Renee to buy my ever-so-eclectic planter. She’s a hard sell. She came back for a second look with her measuring tape and her beautiful daughter Natalie. Natalie must have made her buy it.
And then we were off the fall festival where we saw some talented dancers….
and continued the dietary disaster with chili cheese fries and a funnel cake.
I’m collapsed on the sofa and can’t decide if my headache is from the caffeine, sugar or possibly from the various makes and models of embroidery/sewing machines that are swimming through my head. Should I buy a slightly used Bernina Artista 180 or a brand new lesser model? If you have any advice on which machine I need or would like to comment on the outrageousness of todays’ eats or would like to contemplate buying the last few fake greens,
please chat away!
It’s my Yard Sale and I’ll cry if I want to……..
disclaimer: neither the weeping small child nor the wonderful knitted hat are for sale
I found this {and many other wonderful pictures} the other day when I was preparing for the yard sale. And I feel a little like this today. Now I remember why I don’t like having yard sales—-it’s a lot of work and I really like my stuff. Even the stuff I don’t use anymore. And inevitably when I swipe the dust off and take a 2nd look, I wanna keep it.
But sometimes the stuff can be suffocating—-and my girls are working toward getting a new embroidery sewing machine—so I guess I’ll keep pricing. If you live in the area, head over to my place tomorrow from 8-12 and enjoy some coffee, muffins, hot chocolate, and donuts as you shop.
Now, I’m off to sort through the mountainous amounts of Christmas decorations (there will be 2 decorated trees for sale) and bake some pastries for the girls to sell. Taylor and Caiti are coming home this weekend too—to help with the sale and to go to the local fall festival with us. Pray the rain holds off but we’ll be here rain or shine!
Other items for sale:
sofa, fabric ottoman, bedding, pillows, a few dining chairs, lots of home decor, seasonal decorations, clothes, shoes, a tv/dvd/vcr combo, dishes, and lots lots more!
Note: This coming Monday, I will launch the 12 days Christmas tutorials with the cutest little project and the cutest little blog button you’ve ever seen. That’ll give us a week to spread the word before the 12 days officially starts on November 1.