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Showing posts from March, 2009

Is It POSSIBLE???

Exciting news again.... I KNOW, is it possible? I have three daughters and now all three of them are going to have babies! Tiffany & Chris just announced last night that they will be having their baby sometime in December. See... I told you there would be 3 babies this year! It is so COOL because all these little cousins are so close in age. Get togethers will be so much fun with all of them playing with each other. Can't wait! Visit the website HERE .

My Very First IMovie!

There's a story about his one! A few weeks back, my husband and I took a free course at our local Apple store in how to use IMovie. It was fun... then we came home and didn't do a stinkin' thing with it! Yesterday, I found myself unable to connect with the internet (bad router that had to be replaced... yes with an Apple airport) and had to fill the time with something non-internet. Voila! Let's try a movie. I didn't have much video on my computer so I went with still camera shots instead. Hey! It's my first try but definitely NOT my last. Plans for the day? To take some video of something and make another movie! You can click on the movie and be taken to YouTube to view the video larger and in HD. Leave a comment there... I'd love to hear from you!

Shaggy Quilt

Example of a Shaggy Warm Quilt A few posts ago, I mentioned working on a couple of quilt projects. My motto this year "use it or lose it" came into play when I found 3 big bags of material leftover from past sewing projects. This is pretty funny material because it was all small amounts I bought to make my chihuahua, Rico, bandanas. This is just a sampling of blocks I've put together so far. This is a really easy quilt to make. You can find basic directions HERE . The material is cut into 8 in. squares, usually a patterned piece for the top and matching solid for the bottom. Then you cut a 6 in. square of batting to go in the middle of the material "sandwich". Stack the fabric right sides out with the batting in between and pin corners and center. Sew from corner to corner. Now do that over and over until you have enough to make the size of quilt you want. That's where I'm at right now. Making lots and lots of squares. When I get enough of them to put

First Day Of Spring!

Olallieberries Not Quite Ripe Yet! What do you think of when you think Spring? Nice weather, Baby animals, Spring flowers and vegetables? I think of ALL those things and more! And we have had some really nice weather lately all through March. A couple of weeks ago I was going to go down to my local Farm Supply store and buy about 3 or 4 hens. We have a small dog run that I was going to turn into their cage and have Wes build a henhouse. Ummm, fresh eggs!! But I do live in a neighborhood and unfortunately, it is against the city ordinance here. With hens at least you don't have the early morning crowing, but somehow, I could just see my neighbors complaining about something. Next... Gardening, now there is something I CAN do! Last Saturday I planted some vegetables in my container garden; tomatoes, pole beans and pattypan squash along with a big bin of herbs. And after sampling my very first Olallieberries of the season today, I went and bought a couple of 6 packs of Chandler stra

Weekend Wanderings

Wes has been working the Diablo Canyon outage for the last couple of months. Taking advantage of the first real weekend in 2 months, we decided to make a little trip to Parkfield. It rests along the San Andreas Fault line and has had a history of fairly regular earthquakes. The USGS has set up monitoring devices and collect data in an attempt to better predict what may happen all along the San Andreas Fault. We took a drive up Hwy. 101 to Hwy. 41 East and drove that way through Shandon. These old, rusty metal sorting silos stood along the road like this with nothing else around for miles. I'm not sure what they were used for but they looked really old. The photograph was taken using the pinhole setting (dark circular margins) and then processed using the sepia tones. Love the final photograph! To see more photographs like these, visit my photography website here .

Happy St. Patricks Day

Wear green, don't get pinched and drink and eat lots of "green" things. What am I going to be doing today? I'll begin my morning with an Irish Cream. Ingredients: 1/2 cups whipping cream or coffee cream 1/4 can (14-ounce) sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk) 1/2 tablespoons chocolate-flavored syrup 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon almond extract Mix all together. In the early afternoon, I'll start making Corned Beef and Cabbage using a Round instead of Brisket and using this recipe from Martha Stewart. (Starting from #3.... I'm NOT brining my own piece of meat!) Bake a loaf of Irish Soda Bread using this easy recipe from All Recipes, and an Angel Food Cake colored with green food coloring for dessert. Then, like you, I'll gather with my family to eat, have conversation and be thankful. If you've ever wondered what the history of St. Patricks Day is, check out this website . I've been busy with a

Driving Mr. McKenzie

He's not 3 yet but he has a good sense of direction. He will tell you the way to go and if you make a "wrong" turn, he cries out and points the direction you SHOULD have gone. This is the view from my rear view mirror of my grandson Scotty. He has been a commuter since he was 3 months old, making a round-trip each weekday of about 40 miles. When he was old enough for the carseat to face forward, a whole new world opened up for him. He looks out the window and points out the cows, big trucks and his favorites, the trash trucks, all a part of the driving experience. He is so much fun to drive with and I thought you all would get a kick out of some of the faces he makes as we drive along. Maybe one day when I am old, he will be carting me all around looking at me in his rear view mirror.

Warm Weather On My MInd....

Are you like me... itching for warm weather, BBQ's and camping? I found this cool idea for a quilt over on Little Birdie Secrets (scroll down to March 10th). A denim quilt with a waterproof backing. There's still time to gather supplies and get on board so go check it out!

Life 101

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one. Souza

Coastal Fairy Ring

If You See A Fairy Ring Author Unknown If you see a fairy ring In a field of grass, Very lightly step around, Tip-Toe as you pass. Last night Fairies frolicked there And They're sleeping somewhere near. If you see a tiny fairy Lying fast asleep Shut your eyes And run away, Do not stay to peek! Do not tell Or you'll break a fairy spell. Believe it or not, I found these mushrooms while on a brief nature walk today in our Monarch Butterfly preserve. They were indeed in a circle and the little flower reminded me of a delicate fairy in a white dress pausing in between rides on a Monarch Butterfly.

La Vie en Rose

This is my life. It is my one time to be me. I want to experience every good thing." ~ Maya Angelou

Spring Miracles

It all began for me in 2nd Grade. Our teacher, Mrs. Adkins, had us bring in empty egg cartons and a pack of seeds. We cut apart the egg cartons and created the perfect seed starter packs that we could use, transplant into a garden and watch the vegetables grow. Working in groups, we would step up to the table, fill each of the 12 holes with dirt and one wonderful seed, then cover them over. I planted Pole Beans. Over the next couple of days, with a little water and sunshine, the "Spring Miracle" happened and little green leaves began to appear. Before long we were able to take them home and plant them in our home gardens and one day, if we were lucky and good gardeners, EAT the beans, peas, tomatoes or radishes that we had grown. I've NEVER outgrown the need to put something in the ground in the Spring. When I was first married, I grew only veggies. Let me tell you, we were on a budget and we needed to make our money work for us. As time went on, it became a mixture of fl