All Over the Place

It's hot, hot, hot. In the 90s and humid. We are not used to this. 

Okay, I have a lot of things to tease you with. You can skip and hop around to the things that interest you because, otherwise, this post is too long for the average human to read. 

New apron in the house!! Just as my beloved Boleros are fading fast away, a Bolero-colored apron arrived on Saturday from *Susan at My Mother's Apron Strings.* Susan creates a beautiful apron to give away every. single. month. She's a busy gal now let me tell you. Between running a business, building a new home and a new treehouse, baking, and sewing, I don't know how she finds time for being so generous. Thank you so much, Susan. I love my apron and you!

*~*~*

The last time I left you, I was doing a wee bit of creating of my own. Since I've had some questions, I'll give a little more information. *Here* is the tutorial I used. Remember, I used the method (which is excellent), not the measures. I used my own measurements and a much narrower elastic — ¼ inch. 

~Scrunchy Kit~

My hair bands look almost as if they were made for little girls because they are so much smaller and more narrow. All I wanted was a covering for the elastic to protect my hair. Even purchased hair bands were damaging. I think I'll make some out of t-shirt fabric next. I follow the method to the point where the ends are joined. That's where I do the remainder by hand. The two ends of the elastic are then sewed together very securely by hand and then the opening is closed, also by hand. Just too small and fiddly for me to do on the machine.

*~*~*

Moving right along... I have been wanting to show you that I do get out and about from time to time. This is the new wedding venue overlooking the White Mountains of New Hampshire. If you look closely in that valley, you'll see me waving from my front lawn. ☺

This brings us full circle from some time ago when I showed a barn reconstruction going on and wondered what it was all about with full windows on the end looking over this scene. (If I find the post, I'll link it.)*~*~*
Saturday, my daughter invited me to a street art festival. These are some of the photos she took for me without much commentary from me.












This home on Main Street is being restored. Here's a closer look at the third story blind that looks out on the scenes shown here. What a happy little getaway.



That one gave us a chuckle...you can't see it very well, but there is also a banana splatted on the sidewalk with an outline. Quite the funny crime scene!*~*~*
Before time completely gets away on me, I must share a photo or two from the 4th of July.
2015
2015

Except for my son's socks last year, it looks remarkably like 2014.

At last, we have come to the end of this post. Blogger was trying to kill it from the beginning so I have been here for hours...hours! (☺Secret message to Jill...nope, didn't work.)

Catch you later...

ツ

It's Gone

This blog is broken. I kind of like my current header, but about a week ago, because the lilacs are no more, I tried to change it.  

Now I have changed the header gazillion or more times in the nearly eight years I've been blogging and have never had a lick of trouble. This time, the edit button is gone! Just gone — slid right off the right side of the page on both my PC and the iPad. I do have a question in the blogger forum about it and I have reported it to *oogle. Have you had any experience with this kind of thing? Otherwise, it'll be lilacs in December...

~it's gone~
I do notice that Blogger has made a few minor changes on the layout page so perhaps it is a temporary glitch. (It's already lasted a week so I am short on patience.) 
Okay, moving right along... Have you had breakfast yet?

~it's gone~
What? Not breakfast? This is our new Friday night meal. Friday nights have traditionally been reserved for pizza; we have been substituting a Cool Veggie Pizza for a few weeks now. The original Cool Veggie Pizza recipe comes from The Pampered Chef. It's a crescent roll base with a cream cheese "frosting" and then the veggies of your choice. This one has onion, green pepper, tomatoes, celery, and carrots. Tonight the pizza will also have some chopped black olives. Oh my, we do love it! Anyway, my cream cheese frosting is a bit different from those you might have seen on line. Mine has an 8 ounce block of cream cheese, a tablespoon of mayo, a tablespoon of sour cream, and a teaspoon or so of dry ranch dressing (to taste). Then it is all whipped to a frenzy. This is a fun little recipe that one can make her own! And it works well as a savory for afternoon teas if the pieces are cut into those cute shapes. 
Okay, you wanted to see aprons...

~peek at pocket detail~

If interested, you can learn more about the apron pattern *here* on a post I wrote last year. Plan B turned out to be gifting the apron to someone who would appreciate it...I hope!

And I have been making other things, too, but this post is already way too long and all over the place. 

Have a wonderful, blessed, relaxing weekend!

I Won the Most Lovely Christmas Apron

Oh, yes I did!

She came all the way east from Washington state arriving Friday in time to get acquainted with the girls.

She's so lovely inside and out. Look at that lining!

And all those beautiful cardinals. I love cardinals.

Susan at My Mother's Apron Strings gives away an apron every single month. I know! That is a lot of aprons. Susan is an amazing gal. She shares many wonderful recipes. Do you know what? She also tucked in some Tahitian vanilla beans for me to try. She says that they are "the best." Susan, thank you so much for both the apron and the beans. I promise that I will not freeze the vanilla beans!

If you read her recent post entitled Gratitude, you'll get much more of a sense of who Susan is than I could possibly convey. When you visit, would you please tell her that I sent you and give her some of that warmth and love that my readers are known for? Cuz you are the best. (And I get told so all the time.)

Oh, you think I should dare to try my apron on? Right. In a month or two. I'm waddling around like a duck just now and so I'd prefer to get back to my svelte self. *Cough* *Sputter* *Choke*

Off to do some packing...

Cluttered Country Store Style, Et Cetera

While many are able to define the decorating style of their kitchens — Tuscan, Country, Primitive, French Provincial — I've never quite been able to come up with a definitive name for mine. Well I have, but would be reluctant to share it for decency's sake. I spend a lot of time disguising that kitchen in photos for Blogdom having promised for years that I would share painting details and still it is not done. Not happening any time soon either.

So when I saw this photo of Sam in the apron he requested a year ago — one "just his size" and only recently finished, I gasped.

Through the magic of the camera's eye, I can definitively state that my kitchen is Cluttered Country Store. Ai yi yi... nothing like displaying the recycling bins prominently beneath the old farm table loaded with the stuff we need and can't seem to find a home for. Sigh. It is what it is for now.

Well then, let us just focus on the happy boy who has an apron his size and a denim jean pocket, an idea gleaned from visiting Linda and her camper redo. If you haven't seen Linda with her new grandbabies (right—quads!), you must check— so cute.

***

Remember when I mentioned that Site Meter was ticking down to zero? It happened. Slowly and methodically, it began ticking back up until, as of yesterday, it looks as if it might be back to normal.

I can smile again.

***

Here's a photo that makes me grin. First, it's that iced coffee recipe from Pioneer Woman. Oh boy howdy — it's yummy good! Second, the roses are rising right out of my glass. Bad, bad positioning. ☺

***

Lastly, we went bike riding in the cemetery over the weekend. I packed a little lunch knowing the boys would be thirsty and hungry after all the exercise. Their mom even had a blanket. Love this photo, though I'm feeling a little insecure about the snack. Look at those faces! =D

Must dash, as if you haven't figured that out already.

A lovely Monday to you.