Monday's Maybe

Caweb and his bwankee

Back in December I decided to make myself a fleece blanket. Oh is it ever yummy! I had so much fun making it and it was such a hit around here that Caleb asked for one for Christmas. Rachel actually made her own blanket out of pink camo fleece. It's absolutely adorable!

So Mr. Wonderful wanted to know when I was going to make him his very own blanket. We actually went to the fabric store together where he picked out his own fleece! It's so cute (zoo critters) and brings a smile to my face everytime I see it.

But poor Mr. Wonderful is still waiting for his bwankee because I've been so occupied with everything else life has brought my way. Well, maybe I can work on it tomorrow while the big snow storm is hitting us. Maybe. Just maybe.

As a little FYI, did you know there's almost one yard of fleece just in the fringe? Yep. This is one very warm blanket. And the fringe...the fringe is very snuggly and cozy and soft. I think it's my favorite thing of all!

Here's to cozy bwankees...and cozy friends,

Girls Day Out...Michelle's Platter

Here's part two of our Girls Day Out!


Roses that turned out to be more like lollipops!



Just when I thought I was about finished, I started going crazy with dots. Dots and dots and dots!



I had no idea how to finish the edges of the platter, but was pleasantly surprised to see how this little scroll work and dots helped to pull it all together.



Of course, the date stamp as our reminder of this wonderful day together. I just couldn't help myself and continued the dot dot dot thing!



Love the dots!


Rachel modeled the finished platter for me since it was Saturday morning and I decided my "yesterday's hair and make-up" wasn't picture worthy.

I had fun being creative with my little girl! I'd try something a little different with the roses next time. I think that special pencil we used to write on the back of the platters might be helpful for shading rose petals. We'll see. Maybe next time!

Smooches!

Girls Day Out...Rachel's Platter

The boys were going to be gone the entire day. Hmmmm. What to do. A girl and her mama all alone in an empty house. We never get to be alone really. We wanted to do something special that would take us out of the house. We've been cooped up inside for so long! We thought being creative was just what we needed and so headed out to a great little "make your own pottery" place.

We thoroughly enjoyed lingering over our projects and spent three hours painting together. Three whole hours! We loved every single minute of our time together. It was simply wonderful!

After all that hard work, we went out for a late lunch and then headed home to watch a chick-flick, The Young Victoria. What a great movie! We sipped our hot cocoa and snuggled on the couch until the boys finally arrived back home later that evening.

Here's a look at Rachel's project, from beginning to end...


Starting with a blank "piece of paper" which will become a platter to be used for homemade cookies.



Rachel sponged on a baby pink background and then added big sponged dots which later become beautiful flowers.



The platter is really starting to take shape as the flowers bloom right before our eyes.



Three hours later, the finished platter is gorgeous even before being fired in the kiln.



Isn't it just stunning! I think we both squealed with delight when we arrived seven days later to pick-up the finished platters (I made one too). We both agreed this is something we want to do together again in the very near future.



This little note on the back of the platter will help us remember when we had our fun afternoon together!



A beautiful girl with her beautiful creation!

Tomorrow I hope to post photos of my platter...stay tuned for more creativity!

Happy Wednesday!

Monday's Maybe

Do Not Disturb!

We have a herd of deer that come through every morning and every evening. Over the almost 14 years that we've lived here, I've never seen anything quite like what we've been witnessing over the past month.

There's a spot behind our house where the deer have decided to start sleeping. The first time this happened it was late at night and there was a full moon. The trees cast long dark shadows against the sparkling white snow. It was simply beautiful!

And there they were. A dozen deer. All nestled down in the snow sleeping. They seem to sleep alone or huddle with just one other deer friend. One might think they'd all snuggle in together to try and stay warm, but they don't. Probably for safety's sake. They start their beds by kicking away the snow down to the leaves. Then they kick the leaves around and slowly sink down, down, down. It is an amazingly peaceful sight!

So imagine our surprise to see six deer decide to take a morning nap in plain sight out our back window. I tried taking a picture, but the reflection kept bouncing back into the camera. The deer were alerted that something was going on. They must have seen the flash go off. So, I snuck around to a small side window and very slowly lifted the frame. I stuck my camera out and clicked. A tree was in my way! I clicked again. Blurry this time. So, I snapped a couple of more and was able to get this one. They knew something was going on! I messed-up their little nap (sorry about that!), but I did manage to get a little token for posterity's sake. Deer do sleep! It's an amazing thing to behold.

I hope your Monday is going well. It's snowing here. And it's still close to zero. But they say tomorrow it's going to be almost 30 degrees. Heat wave! Looks like it's time to pull out the bathing suits! Mmmm hmmm.

Stay warm where you are,

Caution: Vent Post

Good morning, my sleepy heads!

I snuck in the room to take this picture a few mornings ago. At the very moment Caleb heard the little beep of the camera, he turned and I caught his sleepy eyes in this photo. Awww!

In case you are wondering what on earth my children are doing, this has become a regular first-thing in the morning scene at our home. The kids both grab the books they are reading (Rachel was nearing the end of The Hidden Hand and Caleb is finishing up The Lord of the Rings) and head to the heater vents located on the floor in front of the big window. They usually sit on the vents, but this particular morning they both huddled over them. This very well might have been the morning it was -7 degrees outside!

It's been way too cold here for way too long.

Usually there's a chair and a half positioned in the center of the big window. When the Christmas tree was up, the vent on the left was opened up (there's usually an end table there) and Rachel claimed it as her own. After the tree came down, she asked if we could leave the big chair and end table where they were so the vents would remain open. Why not! I told her when spring arrives (please hurry!) and the heater vents aren't needed so much, we'll move the chair back.

It's funny how these little things can catapult you back in time. When I was a young girl, I can remember getting up in the morning, wearing my long flannel nightgown, and finding my way to the heater vent located in the floor of our kitchen (which was right in front of the sliding glass doors). The warm air would fill my nightgown into a big soft puff and I would stay all warm and cozy. At least until the heater turned off.

As a side note, I'm sure everyone is familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's, The Lord of the Rings. But did you know The Hidden Hand, written by E.D.E.N. Southworth, is considered by some to be one of the greatest pieces of literature written in the 19th century? It was penned in 1859. I think Rachel would not hesitate to tell you that it is one of her all-time favorite books...ever. She could hardly put it down! Having read the last pages, tears rimmed her eyes when she came to me with the book closed. Even though the title of the book never appears within the text itself, the story leads the reader to understand fully how God's hidden hand was upon the life of a young girl named Capitola.

It's snowing here...again. And another winter weather advisory has been issued.

Did I mention that spring arrives in eight weeks. Eight weeks. Please, please hurry! Until then, you might find us (at least the kids) on the vents!

A Tip for Tuesday

If you happen to have a canine friend who suffers with paw problems (allergies which lead to chewing which can lead to infections) then please feel free to make use of this FREE tip.

Wash or soak your sweet doggie's paws in warm water with a tablespoon or two or Dreft laundry soap. Do not rinse after washing. Thoroughly dry the pads and between each toe with a clean towel. If you can wash your sweet doggie's feet each day, all the better.

The vet told me this was the cheapest way to handle this common problem.

Please keep in mind that a few minutes later I left the vet's office with $235 less in my checking account. Yes, that's right. I'd really hate to find out the expensive way to handle this problem, wouldn't you?

There's more to this story, but I'll spare myself the torture of reliving the details!

Monday's Maybe

Peanut brittle...and more!

Let me start by saying I find myself in a bit of a dilemma on Mondays. I practically live in my car on Mondays. And so, not being home much, I have found it hard to post a blog on Monday, which then carries over to Tuesday, and sometimes, as you know, beyond that. I find that if I get behind on Monday, I'm behind the rest of the week. Trust me, it's not a good thing.

Hence my thoughts for future Monday posts which I have aptly entitled "Monday's Maybe." Why maybe? Because maybe on Monday I can squeeze in a quick picture and a short blog post. Brilliant, I know. If you see a Monday's Maybe somewhere else out there in the blog-o-sphere, just remember, it started here with Yours Truly!

So, that picture was taken on December 23rd. This was my very first try at making homemade peanut brittle. Our dear friends brought some with them one evening when we got together and, well, we all loved it. They were kind enough to share the recipe and so we just figured it would be a nice little treat over the Christmas holiday.

The recipe was easy enough. Actually, I followed it to a "T". At some point, however, I realized something wasn't quite right. As I stirred the very hot mixture (after it had cooked in the microwave for about 10 minutes), I started seeing little flecks of white. I dismissed it as part of the process (you know, the nuts mix in with the hot stuff and something changes temporarily). That is, until I pulled out the spatula and a portion of it was missing.

But never fear, I thought quickly, grabbed the camera, and made sure I could turn this disaster into a future blog post. Who knew?

I let the entire mess cool into a giant hard mass of rubber and brittle all mixed together. The spatula was stuck right smack dab in the middle! I couldn't help but wonder what poor sorter at the recycle facility would think as it passed him by on the conveyor belt. "Huh? What the heck was that?"

Lesson: Use a heat proof spatula when making homemade peanut brittle.

Here's the great part...our neighbor came over on the afternoon of Christmas Eve with a gift bag for our family. Imagine our surprise to find two boxes of world-famous peanut brittle! And, no, they had absolutely no idea of the disaster that had occurred in my kitchen less than 24 hours before.

Don't ya just love a story with a happy ending?

Here's to Mondays!