"Somewhere children dance to the joyous music of life

and elsewhere they only cling to existence.

They are all ours."

{ laurie kohl }

So, since I just don't seem to make cards and scrapbook as much anymore (not much time!) but I DO want to blog still (my sister likes to read my blog, what can I say?) I decided to start posting the simple things I do each day. Boring for readers , but a way to kind of keep a journal and for my sister to keep in touch (other than the zillion phone calls).
I LOVE to bake and practice frugality and lately I have found some wonderful sites that have given me great inspiration. I learned of homemade laundry soap from the Duggar's site (you know, the people with nineteen children) and while I would never aspire to wanting that many children, I do think they do a wonderful job and the few times I have watched their show on TLC I am amazed at the organization and normalcy that seems present in their home. The main reason I wanted to try the soap came from reading all the praise about it and how gentle it seems to be on skin. My youngest deals with itchy skin constantly and so I thought to my self, "Self, you gotta try it!" I was pleasantly surprised. It IS mild and it has helped my son, but most of all, I LOVE the smell and the way my clothes and towels feel so soft and smell so fresh. The recipe does make lots and both my mom and daughters have benefitted from the abundance of the stuff, but since it is so economical I am happy to share! I did scent mine with some honeysuckle oil that I have and while that makes it smell even better, the Fels Naptha soap has a citrusy smell to it on its own. I also started using white vinegar as a rinse and the only caveat to that is that there was still some static after using the dryer. No problem! I diluted one bottle of softener with an equal amount of water and keep sponges in there. When I throw the clothes in the dryer I put an almost wrung out sponge in with them and Voila! static is gone! If you want to try the soap you can get the recipe here
http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html.

The second thing I have made this week is homemade yogurt. I know, it is an easy thing to buy but darn, the homemade stuff tasted so much better. I added vanilla to it and made it slightly sweetened. Give it a try..http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/10/how-to-make-homemade-yogurt-2/

A Christmas Gift

So much for being back!! My intentions were good to post, but then Thanksgiving and then Christmas happened! However, I am happy to post this little "thing" i made for my mom and dad. I had no idea what I was going to do when I started stitching and wish it looked a little more random but I am happy with it. I took a recent photo of them and printed it onto linen. Then I just took some scraps of felt and some twigs and started stitching. My bird looks a little off kilter, but I could not be bothered to redo it! I want to make another but have it more random. I got the idea to stitch something from this blog.. http://rebeccasower.typepad.com/rs_out_of_hand/2009/12/index.html I so want to make some little journals with all kinds of stitching. I must say that it is so soothing to me to just sit and stitch. My mind wanders and and I seem to forget all my worries.! Try it! Today is a beautiful day out. I even have some of my windows open to let the fresh air in. Will have to close them soon as the natives are starting to complain. I am going outside to take some pictures of some of the little fairies I made and will post one later..

I'm Back!

It has been so many months since my last post. It is time to get with it. I have not been idle! While card making and scrapbooking have not been my main interest lately, I am slowly getting back into "paper" and i am loving the feel of it on my fingers. I have been doing lots of baking, felting and homemaking. I moved my "happy place" room upstairs but found that was not working for me.. not happy up there! I have all my lovely children home for a few days and guess what they are doing!! Yep, moving everything back downstairs.. What they won't do for cookies! For now, a picture of my three oldest.. Emily is 25, Sarah is 21 and Sweet William is 18.. Patrick was a bit camera shy... I am going to try very hard to post each day. Tomorrow look for one of my fairies!! Have a super Thanksgiving..

"Nothing Gold Can Stay"

It has been an extremely sad week at our house. Molly, our twelve year old golden retriever started losing weight about five weeks ago. I attributed it to old age and didn't pay much attention. However in the last two weeks it was melting off her and she did not want her food any longer. Last Thursday I took her to the vet. He did blood work and called me later that night. I took her in the next day for an ultrasound. The ultrasound confirmed his suspicions and also what the bloodwork showed. She had a horrible cancer. It is the kind that attacks the blood vessels of the spleen and it had also already moved into her liver. To say we were devastated is to put it mildly.

My oldest daughter and I picked Molly out from her litter when she was just four days old. We visited her every week and brought her home as soon as she was eight weeks old.

She was a character from the beginning. Till the end of her life the retriever in her was alive and well. There are still some socks outside in the yard that I can't bring myself to pick up just yet. She ALWAYS brought us something when we came in the door from being gone. Whether it be socks, a stuffed toy, an old manky bone or someones undies.. She didn't care, she HAD to bring us a present..

My brother used to call her a "science project". Probably because she did not look like a typical golden.. She was purebred but she was a curly girl. She had a pink nose too!.

Our vet told us that with the spread of the cancer surgery would only prolong her life a few months at the most. We took her to a specialist on Monday, but she confirmed our vets diagnosis. Molly was so very tired. She just wanted to sleep and I could not get her to eat. We tried pain pills and anti nausea pills and they helped a little, but she was just not herself.

Emily and I made the decision that as hard as it was for us to let her go, we wanted her to go when she was still able to enjoy a walk along the river where she could chase squirrels and birds. We did this on her last day and also took her to her favorite pet store where she roamed around and stuck her nose into everything.

Tuesday night our dear sweet Molly crossed the rainbow bridge. No longer is she here to greet me when I come home. No longer can I look into her beautiful brown eyes nor pet her soft velvet ears.

Our hearts are broken still, but we know we gave her the best gift we could. Leaving us while she still had her dignity and a small zest for life.

Good Bye Angel Molly......

It has been a loooong winter. My father had a couple of relapses, and we thought for sure that we would not have him for Christmas. It isn't that we are pessimists, but the doctors even told me to have my sister come home asap at one point. But darn!! that man just loves us too much!! He is back home and doing pretty good. I am thankful and grateful to have him around as long as possib

It has been such a long time..

...since I have had the time or the energy or the inclination to post here. I have received several emails from different people and just wanted to post a note.
We got our two girls settled. One into a new apartment and one into her first apartment. This freed up a room in our house. After much going back and forth it was decided that the boys would each move downstairs into their own rooms and the HUGE upstairs bonus room would become my haven..a place for me to put some of my antiques, my scrapbook stuff and my computer. It is looking great, but so far I have not had time to fully unpack and put everything away. I am still in the process of making it cozy, homey and MINE! I finally got a curtain up and my husband has installed some of my shelving. I am anxiously looking forward to fall and to all the lovely cool weather. Then I will finally be able to start creating again!

On a little bit of a sadder note, my beautiful father who I love with all my heart and soul has not been well. He has been in and out of the hospital the last several months and last week was admitted for congestive heart failure. He is home now but is on oxygen all the time. He has become so frail and I know in my heart that our time with him is limited. There are so many things I want to tell him, but neither of us has ever been the kind of person who shows much emotion. He loves me and I love him and there is no question of that between us but I want so much to tell him how I feel. Another reason for my not taking much time to post here, it seems there are more important things to do right now. So for now, just a "hello" and I hope to be back to blogging soon!

School Days and other milestones..

It is that time of year again... we have the new back pack on the bed, that "new crayon" smell in it that brings back such memories to me of all my "first days", the crisp new clothes, socks and undies, new lunch box, and a clean new calender to fill in with all the upcoming school events. I love this time of year, not only because it means I will have some time to myself again, but also because I am lucky in that my boys love school and can't wait to get back into their school routine and see all their friends.

We have another milestone event happening this weekend, that makes me a little teary eyed. My sweet Sarah is 20 and is moving into her own apartment. She is starting her second year of college and I am lucky that I had her for one extra year after high school. Thankfully it is only about fifteen minutes from us and five minutes from her grandparents. She is totally thrilled and it is a sweet little apartment. It is a super safe area (but then, we live in a wonderfully super safe small town!) and she is so excited to have her own space where she can "do whatever she wants, whenever she wants", as she puts it. We have had fun this week going back and forth taking little things and Saturday will be the day she will move in and spend her first night alone. It is time, but nonetheless I will miss her. She is my second child to move out, and I still have two more to go, but I know it will seem a little empty here with her gone. ANYWAY, I always think of this poem each year as school starts and wanted to share it. I am anticipating next week when it will be just the animals and I at home each day and I will have time to sit and create.. Hope you are enjoying these days last days of summer.

World, I bequeath to you today one little girl in a crispy dress, with two blue eyes, and a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of light blond hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs. I Trust You'll Treat Her Well

She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning and skipping off down the street to her first day at school. And never again will she be completely mine.Prim and proud, she'll wave a young and independent hand this morning, and say goodbye and walk with little-lady steps to the nearby schoolhouse. Gone will be chattering little hoyden who lived only for play, and gone will be the delightful little gamin who roamed the yard like a proud princess with nary a care in her little world.

Now, she will learn to stand in lines and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called. She will learn to tune her little-girl ears for the sound of school bells, and for deadlines.She will learn to giggle and gossip, and to look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy across the aisle sticks out his tongue.

Now she will learn to be jealous, and now she will learn how it is to feel hurt inside, and now she will learn how not to cry. No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch while an ant scurries across a crack in the sidewalk. Nor will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn to kiss lilac blossoms in the morning dew.

Now she will worry about important things like grades and what dresses to wear, and whose best friend is whose. Now she will worry about the little boy who pulls her hair at recess time, and staying after school, and which little girls like which little boys, And the magic of books and knowledge will soon take the place of the magic of her blocks and dolls.

And she'll find her new heroes. For five full years I've been her sage and Santa Claus, her pal and playmate, her parent and friend. Now, alas, she'll learn to share her worship and adoration with her teachers (which is only right.)

No longer will her parents be the smartest, and greatest in the world. Today, when the first school bell rings, she'll learn how it is to be a member of the group, with all its privileges, and, of course, its disadvantages, too.Today, she'll begin to learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends. That "the group" can be a demanding mistress, and I'll standon the porch and watch her start out on the long, long journey to becoming a woman.

So WORLD, I BEQUEATH TO YOU TODAY ONE LITTLE GIRL in a crispy dress, with two blue eyes, a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.

I TRUST YOU'LL TREAT HER WELL - Daniel Valentine-

summer lovin..

I have been making some fabric postcards, but since my old printer won't work on the new computer I can't scan them and I am too lazy to get the camera out and set them up!! BUT, here is a picture of our pumpkin patch. Patrick is excited to see we have five little pumpkins about hte size of grapefruits on there. It is fun to go out each day and check on them.

The Dog days of summer are here.

My computer just gave up and died last week. After my dd's bf, who is a whiz at computers, checked it over, he said it wasn't worth fixing.. I did buy it four years ago at a "day after Thanksgiving" sale for $250. I think I got my money's worth out of it!! SO, shopped around and got a wonderful buy on this new one. LOVE the flat screen, love the new operating system.. Vista. Now, I just have to transfer everything I need to keep from the old one to the new one..

Haven't had time to make a card.. Well, I did make a couple of fabric postcards, but can't post them just yet. Instead, here is a photo of the love of my life.. he is devoted to me, never talks back and doesn't mind if I am late feeding him once in awhile. He watches me with adoring eyes, will go with me wherever I want and is happy to just "be" with me..

Tucker, my golden retriever. The "girls" are sweet too, but he is just my sweet boy..

This little light of mine

The whole time I was making this card I kept singing that Sunday School song in my head..
I have enjoyed making some round cards the past few days, but think I prefer the square ones!
Used up some Daisy D scraps and a K and Company sticker and a little red gingham brad. I do believe that red polka dots and red gingham are my all time favorites.. no wait, I love pale blue and yellow too.. Patrick and I made a giant Reeses peanut butter cup today for Williams birthday tomorrow. We found this hilarious site called Pimp that Snack. It is British, and since my mom is English and all my kids have visited quite a few times, many of the treats were familiar to us. Basically you take a snack and make it HUGE.. It is fun just to check it out. The peanut butter cup was easy to make. I will post a pic tomorrow..

Happy Day,,

I finally get to spend some time just "pottering". I love days like today. I am getting caught up on some cleaning jobs, finishing some cards and later today will finish canning those beets!

I love this old BG paper. the frogs are such fun and I am glad I have several sheets of it still. This card was made for a little boy in England. His mommy is dealing with cancer and I thought I would
send him his own card and a lizard beanie baby. (Still have TONS of those things in boxes from the days when we went crazy collecting them!!) The second card is for a friend who loves bears. I was the lucky recipient of some wonderful treasures from her moms old sewing box. Since she lives in England they were that much more special to me as they brought back memories of going through my own grannies sewing box. Thanks, Janet!!

Beets, Beets, Beets!!

Goodness me, it has been so busy around here the last few days..
It is "party week" at our house every third week in July. We have three birthdays this week.. the 21st Sarah turned 20, William will be 17 on the 26th and my oldest Emily will be 24 on the 28th! When they were little it was really exhausting. We always had three parties and three cakes.
Now, Sarah just takes a homemade cake into work with her. This year I made her a French Vanilla cake with white chocolate buttercream and strawberries. William wants a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake to take in and share with his co workers and so I will be doing that tomorrow and my dear sweet Emily just asked if I will make her pumpkin cookies.
I got a wonderful buy on beets today at the local fruit and veg stand.. 13 lbs for $10. Since we all love them I bought two boxes!! What was I thinking?? I have been boiling beets all day and have 10 quarts pickled so far! They will taste mighty good this winter!!

I did get a couple of cards made. I have been wanting to make a round card for awhile and this is what I came up with. I dont' have a circle cutter, but found a round piece of cardboard and used that as a pattern. I am not totally happy with this, but so wanted to use that daisy sticker from Melissa Frances. It was easy to sew the lace trim around the front and I do like the look of it.. Going to try some more round cards tomorrow, but for now I am off to the shower to try and remove some of this red beet juice from my hands and face!!

Strength...

That is what it takes to fight the horrible disease of cancer. A friend of a friend was diagnosed with it. She is young and has a four year old son.. I made these cards to send her. In part I used some of the Melissa Frances Thankful line. Also, I discovered this site The Breast Cancer Site I got the the breast cancer tag on the side of my blog from here.. You can put one on your blog and anytime someone clicks it it will take them to their site and you can click to fund a free mammogram.. Easy Peasy!

We continue to enjoy summer and I hope you do too. We took a drive out to the orchards the other day and got lots of fat, sweet cherries and succulent apricots. Peaches will be next and then fresh corn on the cob..Yum, Yum!! Needless to say my freezer is now well stocked with apricot and strawberry freezer jam. I love opening the door and seeing the red and orange containers.. so colorful..

Vintage for me..

I chose the name of my blog , NOT in reference to me, but because I just love things that have been aged. Anything I make I like to use "found" vintage objects on it or papers that look old and shabby. I like shabby chic, but I also like just plain old vintage. This card I made using an old elastic cardboard holder from a long ago dimestore.. Notice the price?? 29 cents..those days are long gone. Also used some old sewing paper and an image from the net. Made for a sewing friend.. Even the rick rack is old. not the new stuff..

Red, Yellow, Polka dots and sunflowers..

My favorite color combination. I always think "Rhubarb and Custard" when I think of these colors.
Love sunflowers too and I happened upon a yummy candy at Michaels the other day.. Mary Janes. Do you remember eating these when you were little.. Kind of like Bit O Honey with some peanut butter inside!! I was looking at one of the wrappers (red and yellow!!) and knew I had to make a card with it and use my Mary Jane Shoes stamp.. Stamp is from Paperbag Studios. Polka Dot paper from Daisy D's, Big Brad from Queen and Co. and the sunny yellow library pocket is from Bazzill. I stamped on the sunflower with my music stamp. Have a wonderful holiday tomorrow..

Summertime and the Living is Easy...

Dinner tonight was a summer delight! Fresh corn on the cob, garden beets, new potatoes, asparagus and a sweet, sweet watermelon.. No meat!! Just veggies. We all enjoyed it!! The days are definitely lazy..
I still have to get up early each morning to give my little diabetic dog, Puck her shot, but I don't mind it a bit. She is worth it! Other than that, we are having a lovely summer. I have been able to do a little bit of creating. My first Row House for a swap I am in and I had fun with it. Not quite what I usually do, but it was fun. I did the background by squighing (is that a word?) some modge podge on the paper and crinkling tissue paper over that. Let it dry and then put some ancient page inks on top. Had some of the memory glass laying around so I punched a square and put some glass behind it for the window. The image is my aunt when she was a little girl. Did some embossing, some Tulip Fashion paint beads, a little hand made paper that I printed the sentiment on and then some alpha beads. I found the little keys in my stash, I bet I have had them for years! Love those little pearls that come in a strip..
The second card just used up some scraps. Hope you are all having a sweet summer too!! Had to post a pic of my little Puck.. Her name comes from Midsummer's Night Dream!

Agnes Brown is The Mammy!

If you haven't read these books yet, go straight to your local library or book shop and get them!!
I first read them several years ago on a flight to England. Well, I actually read the first one :

The Mammy on my first flight from Boise to Denver. I actually snorted and laughed so much reading it that I know the man sitting beside me thought I was bonkers! I got to Denver and headed straight to a book store and was able to find the second book The Chisellers. Got to England and found the third one to read on my way home.. The Granny. They really are very thin books and can be read in a few hours.. But if you don't want to embarrass yourself with snorting, laughing in public then read them in solitude, because you WILL laugh!! They are written by Brendan O'Carroll and tell of an Irish woman (Agnes Browne)and her children. There is also a movie out that is based on the first book(Anjelica Huston plays Agnes Browne and has a very convincing Irish accent!) My best friend and I watch it together whenever she comes to visit. It tells a tale of true friendship, love of children and perseverance. We have watched the movie together at least five times and I have read the books more than once.

My best friend was here for a visit for a week and has left to go home today. I miss her already and made this little card to send her. We have such a good laugh when she is here. My kids adore her too and Patrick was quite disappointed when he got home today and she was gone!

I used some My Minds Eye, a wooden tag, Daisy D's some felt trim, thickers from American Crafts and primas from my stash. A few buttons and inking and sewing and it was finished!!

Sweet little bundle of fluff!

I had a call yesterday from my daughter's girlfriend. She runs an absolutely wonderful place.
Simply Cats They were in a crisis. They had a set of four little kittens who were about three weeks old and their mama had been run over by a car. They also had a sweet little baby who is 2 weeks old. She had been brought to someones doorstep by a dog! Brenda asked if I could possibly foster them for a few weeks.. Against my better judgement and William's dire warnings, I said yes. We left with five babies, two large containers of Kitten milk replacer, lots of little blankies and five miniscule bottles.
All was great for about two hours. The little siamese baby had been abandoned since just about birth and had been with a foster mom but the mom could no longer keep her, she was able to suck by herself. We fed her and put her right back in her little basket and she drifted off to sleep. Then pandemonium struck! The other four woke up and started mewing. LOULDLY! They have no idea how to suck a bottle and were so frustrated as their little tummies were hungry and they could smell the milk but weren't quite sure how to suck it.. Sarah, William, Patrick and I each had a kitty and tried to feed as best we could. Two hours later they were all back in their little bed curled up, but I was one frazzled mom! I called Brenda and told her I didn't think i could do it! She was great and had found another foster for them. Whew!! Thank Goodness! I could not have gone through that again. It was so frustrating to see them crying and hungry.
So now we just have Maisie (that is what we named her) she is precious and sleeps and eats well. Tucker my HUGE golden retriever has adopted her. He licks her after she has eaten and washes her just like her mama would. We will keep her for a few weeks. She is eating every three hours like a real baby( yes, I got up at 3 am to feed her!) and there is no shortage of willing arms to cuddle and hold her. Our biggest problem will be to not get attached. That shouldn't be too hard though. We already have our four dogs and two cats (who have not shown the slightest bit of interest in her). So here is a picture of our little Maisie and one of Tucker too.

Baking, gardening and Scrapping!

I love to bake.. unfortunately I love to taste it too!! I found a wonderful recipe for a carrot cake that is so easy to make and always turns out perfectly. Since I frequently take treats to the teachers at school, they are well acquainted with my baking. I had made this cake for them and a few weeks ago one of the teachers asked me if I would make one for her for this Saturday. She is giving a 50th wedding anniversary party for her parents. She is having everything else catered but asked if I could make her a one of my carrot cakes. and she would pay me.. I told her I would make it for her, no payment necessary. She wouldn't accept it unless she paid me. I made one this morning and it was baked and cooling nicely on the counter.. and DANG!!! I dribbled a tiny drop ofsome tea onto one of the layers (it is three layers). not much, but I didn't want to take a chance, so I ran to the store and bought another can of pineapple and more cream cheese for the frosting.. I frosted it and it is in the fridge. (looks beautiful!) made another and it is cooling.. so now WE have a carrot cake too..will have to take half over to my mom and dad tonight! This is the one for us. The other one is on a nice bakery board and has the nuts around the outside and a dainty little carrot on top!
Here is another little thing I made. I found "naked bird" houses at a local craft store and I just saw the possibilities.. I hadn't seen the new Basic Grey Sugared paper and it is just so cute!! Love those pink flamings.. So I did the little house in that and then did some inking and modge podged it.. Sending it to my sweet sister.. she just moved into a new house. It will look lovely on her patio. I think pink flamingos are so endearing so his weekend DH and I are making several stained glass flamingos on copper rods to put in my garden.. he is getting the pink glass today.. it is so pretty, pale pink with white swirls throughout!!
And finally, I had to post a picture of my gorgeous mint! I planted it from seed and it has gotten so abundant in this pot..We love homemade mint sauce and I also like to make simple syrup and toss some leaves into it. Yummy to sweeten your iced tea!! Now I am off to rearrange my scrapping room!

Happy, Happy Day

I am feeling pretty happy these days. The weather is just perfect. It is cool out, not too hot yet, the trees all have their leaves, my roses have tons of blooms and we are slowly getting into the "summer" mode of life. William is doing his senior year internship, so he still has to get up early each day, and be at work at 8. Patrick does his sleeping in and while he is doing that I bustle about and get my little housekeeping chores done. By afternoon I am free to do as I please.. Bake, create, or read.. or putter in my garden. Lovely!
Here is one of my creations. Made for a friend who I am so thankful for. I also made her a DVD of our last trip to Disney.. sigh.. I want to go again.. soon!! I just love that place.. but only in the off season.. It just makes me happy to be there. Patrick and I have a giant plastic pepsi bottle that we are slowly filling up with all our extra change and any odd dollars that I find in the laundry (I think whoever does the laundry is entitled to whatever they find there!!). We are planning a trip for early December and I must say that the anticipation is half the fun..
Anyway, this card I made using my new threading water punch, MF papers, flowers, and ginormous rick rack.