Day 1 of 3

The only thing better than waking up on a Saturday and knowing you don't have to go to work, is waking up on a Saturday and knowing it's a 3 day weekend.

I plan on making the most of all three days which may or may not leave time for the computer. So if you don't hear from me again until Tuesday have a happy weekend. For my U.S. friends, have a happy Labor Day.

a little barn charm

A red barn has been waiting patiently to appear on the blog

Do you remember a fast food chain that was called Red Barn?  I can recall going there when I was a child. In the 80's I was working at a drug store that had a Red Barn within walking distance. I remember going there on my lunch break one day and realizing the food wasn't as good as I had thought it was when I was a kid.

Gathering nuts

Last year when I was walking in the park I collected a bunch of pine cones and acorns. I had intentions of using them in craft projects but never did anything with them. That is until the other day. The pine cones are still sitting but I did use the acorns. More specifically I used the acorn caps.

I now have brand new acorns and less scrap fabric..

Wordless Westie Wednesday

For the birds

When the alarm wakes me up any morning between Monday and Friday I normally think that working 40 hours is for the birds.

However, if the phrase "for the birds" means worthless or without value then I suppose my job really doesn't apply. After all I do collect a paycheck at the end of each week.

So my job may not be for the birds but it sure isn't my idea of a good time. Oh well, time to make the donuts.

weekend entertainment

So I may lead a very boring life but after the cleaning was done I entertained myself with some crocheting.

Since I sold all my dishcloths at the craft show I started working on replenishing that supply

Just as an experiment I thought I would do some round crocheted candle mats. These are about 9" across and are a combination of yarn and jute

Finally I have a project that's not quite finished yet. This is as far as I got. Can you tell what it's going to be?

When it's done it'll be a turkey. If you're curious and want to see a finished one and the tutorial you can visit Craft Passion

mission accomplished

Yesterday's plan went off without a hitch. I didn't have much trouble convincing myself that it really was time to get some cleaning done. Not only did I clean my entire house I also did laundry, mowed the lawn and went for a power walk. By evening I was worn out and achy but I still managed to get in a little of the crocheting I had wanted to do.
So this morning I'm feeling a bit foggy

Coffee, I need lots of coffee. Don't think I'll be doing much of anything today

Let the weekend begin

Rise and shine everyone, it's going to be a beautiful day.

The plan for the day is to hopefully talk myself in to getting some cleaning done. After that's done I'll be working on some crochet projects.

Enjoy your weekend whatever you're doing.

Duke in the house

I've been gone so long that I figured I would have a better chance of everyone remembering me if Duke showed his face.

 I wish that I could say that I've accomplished all kinds of things while I've been away from the computer but I really haven't. I've pretty much just been entertaining myself the way I used to back before blogging. I've done a little crafting, a lot of lounging on the couch and watching tv and just a little itty bit of cleaning.
Am I back to a regular posting schedule? Who knows. I guess I'll find out tomorrow

The straight and narrow

I think I'm too easily distracted to follow the straight and narrow path. This one suits me much better

I started to catch up with some of you yesterday but I didn't get very far. Can you guess why?

Yep, I got distracted.

not in to it

Still not feeling in to sitting in front of the computer so here's a flower to say I'm sorry but I won't be coming around again today.

Can't say how long I'll be but eventually I'll get back to being a good blogger

From my in box

I believe I forgot to mention that I was taking the weekend off from the computer. Since I'm still not quite ready to return, I'm bringing you a recent email I recieved from my cousin.

The last wishes of Alexander the Great: On his death bed, Alexander summoned his generals and told them his three Ultimate wishes: 1.  The best doctors should carry his coffin; 2.  The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should Be scattered along the procession to the cemetery, and 3.  His hands should be let loose, hanging outside the coffin for all to See. One of his generals who was surprised by these unusual requests asked Alexander to explain. Here is what Alexander the Great had to say: 1.  I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the Face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal 2.  I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees That material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth 3.  I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that We come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed After the most precious treasure of all is exhausted, and that is TIME. TIME is our most precious treasure because it is LIMITED.  We can produce more wealth, but we cannot produce more time. When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back. Our time is our life. May God grant you plenty of TIME and may you have the wisdom to give it away so that you can LIVE & LOVE in peace.

"Life is not the way it's supposed to be... It's the way it is..
The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference.

Did someone call a cab?

The kindness of bloggers

I should have done this post days ago but I've been very lazy. It's high time I tell you all about the kindness and generosity of one particular blogger.
Through my meet my other friends Monday posts you may have met Katie from Westie Julep. Katie is mom to Julep and Derby, two adorable westies. Aside from that Katie is always sewing up a storm. She makes American girl doll clothes and quilts many of which go to Westie Rescue.

Imagine my surprise and delight when Katie said that she was making a quilt special for me. I don't think there are enough words to describe just how much I appreciated her gesture. Bloggers truly are the best people I've never met.

Last week when I got home from work I found the package on the door step and couldn't wait to open it up.

Katie had asked me if I had certain colors or style that I preferred and I told her that I'm pretty eclectic so anything was good.

This quilt just makes me happy every time I look at it. 

Of course Duke wanted to show it off too.

See mom, I'm not touching it but I sure would like to try it out. I promise my paws are clean.

I think Duke and I will spend many happy moments with this quilt. Thank you so much Katie. I absolutely love it.

Backlog

I don't know how it happend but I have a rather large backlog of pictures ready for posts. Today is a good day to start using some of those.

I was feeling a bit old the other day but in comparison to these cars I'm still a spring chicken.

These were taken at Conneaut Lake Park in Conneaut Lake Pa. The park does a free concert on the lawn every Sunday during summer and sometimes they have car shows going on at the same time. 

Pymatuning Lake Festival

I know I was supposed to let you know yesterday how the craft show went but I just didn't have the energy to do a post.
Saturday was a 13 hour day and Sunday was a 12 hour day. By the time I got home Sunday I was exhausted. After a night of not sleeping so well Monday was spent being very lazy. I was lucky to have at least unloaded the car.
I've got pictures today to give you a peek at our set up.
Here's my side

The back table was a combination of my stuff and Debbies

Say hi to Debbie while she looks over the table and works on some finishing touches.

The other side of the tent was Debbie's side with a couple of my things thrown in. (I think I was kind of a booth hog.

So what do you think my first sale of the day was?

The first sale was five of those rag wrapped candy canes in the little basket on the left. I sold those for $1 each. Early on in the day a customer bought all three of those jute wrapped tall candles. Those were $3 each and the only ones I made. 

I may or may not get much blogging done this week. It all depends on if I find my energy and can make it through the work week. My final thought for today is I don't want to go back to work today. (SIGH)

Neglect

Someone has been very neglectful around here. Seriously, who cares about all the stuff that's been showing up on this blog.
It's high time for a Duke post

We were out in the front yard on the day this picture was taken. I usually attend to business in the back but we had rain and it was swampy. See that black line across my nose? Well that's my moms leash. I like to hold on to my end even though it's clipped to my collar just to make sure I have a good strong hold of her. You never can tell when she's going to try and run off.
Today she has the day off but she's busy getting ready for the craft show tomorrow. You may not hear from her again until Monday. It all depends on how tired she is when she gets home. I may have to send her right to bed.

Smooth

One of my new favorite things is smoothies. There is one in particular that I make all the time and have no desire to make any other kind. It is sooooooooooooooooooooo good

Take one banana
1 cup of orange juice and
a handful of frozen strawberries.
run it through the blender, pour and enjoy.