Go Trojans!!!

This past Saturday, our high school football team won the state championship game! My kids don't go there until next year, but we watched the game on tv. It was kinda fun to look for those people we knew in the stands. Lots of people drove downstate for the game, and it was worth the drive. I took Rachel to the celebration rally at the high school on Sunday afternoon. The more visits to her new school, the better. She even got a new t-shirt from me. It is her first "official" Cary Grove t-shirt. Of course, she had to wear it to school today.

The back of the t-shirt has all the scores of the games this season - undefeated! She now wants me to order the sweatshirts when the order form comes out. I think she's stocking up for high school. :) There's not a lot of school spirit for the jr high. Maybe because it's only 7-8 grade (some jr highs are 6-8). By the time December of 8th grade rolls around, they are already talking transitioning to high school, which leave jr high in the dust. So, I'm more than happy to start the stack of navy and white (school colors) apparel.

It was back to school and work today. Only 3 more weeks of school until we get 2 weeks off for Christmas. I think it will be a steady increase in excitement, which means a noisy lunchroom. Then if it snows this week, even flurries, that will get the kids REALLY into the Christmas mood!

Link to some free Christmas patterns

Looking for free Christmas craft patterns? This snowman ornie that I made came from a freebie pattern at North Pole Christmas. http://northpolechristmas.com/ There's all kinds of free patterns at this site, so it's worth a click over there to check it out.


Happy Thanksgiving! Yesterday, Rachel and I made some pies to take to my parent's house today. We made French apple pie and pumpkin pie. I taught Rachel how to make a decorative crust with fork imprints.


I got the kids to go through our stack of old videos and DVDs yesterday. I don't know why we were hanging on to some of them, but it was time to sort and toss. I tried to divide them up into categories and listed some on Ebay, just to see what happens. I usually don't sell items other than my crafts, but it's worth a try. If they don't sell, then it's a trip to the Goodwill Store to donate them.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thrift store finds

I quickly ran into a local thrift store on Friday, and found a couple items. The first thing I managed to find was a mini grapevine wreath ~ perfect for the pegs under the new shelf in the dining room. It was a *whopping* 19 cents! I couldn't pass that one up. The other item I found was a basket. It was heavy, and nicely stained, though it was VERY dusty. I came home, scrubbed it under the kitchen sink, and it came out great. It wasn't sitting really flat, so while it was drying, I put a heavy dictionary on top so that it would dry flat. Not bad for 50 cents! Now to find a home for it. I use baskets to display bowl fillers, as well as use the baskets to hold papers and clutter. So, for a total of 69 cents, I have 2 new goodies.


Matt came home with these dirty clothes today. He spent the night in Eagle Cave last night for Boy Scouts. He had a great time of climbing around and exploring the small nooks of the cave.

These are his shoes that he came home with. Time to put those in the washing machine ~ with LOTS of Oxy Clean to get the dirt out.

There's no school this week, due to parent teacher conferences. The kids are looking forward to sleeping in. I'm planning on doing some cleaning. I still haven't done ANY Christmas shopping. I guess I'll have to think about that this week. The weather has been so warm, it's hard to think about Christmas. But, the forecast is predicting some snow flurries for Thanksgiving, so that might get me into the mood. :)

A few finishes

I finally got a few Ebay listings tonight. I put a 3 candle mats up for bid: a gingerbread, and two snowmen. I finished this cute little snowman ornie. I used some mini stitcher patterns from Primitive Stitches, and made them into a mini pillow. The backing in the same cranberry and ecru homespun as the hanger. I ended up blanket stitching around the edges, as I liked the way it looked. It was too plain without it. It's very lightly aged in my mixture of coffee and vanilla. I'm want to make a set of bowl fillers for Ebay with these. I might have to make few for myself, too!

I finally got around to finishing one set of snowmen bowl fillers. I had cut and sewn the edges a couple motnhs ago, and they just sat on the table downstairs. The weather has been so warm, who's thinking about snow? :) I'm not going to complain about the above average temps after last winter! These snowmen are made with a pure white Warm N Natural, then aged. The photos don't show the color well at all. They are really nice in person, and I like the effect of the pure white cotton batting.

James had the opportunity to join the Boy Scout campout this weekend. He wasn't sure he wanted to stay overnight. So, he went for the afternoon. He was having so much fun, that he wanted to camp there last night. So, Russ and James stayed there last night.


I took Rachel winter coat shopping yesterday afternoon. We found one that she like, and that fit. We still haven't been hit with the really cold weather, but it will come - and she'll be ready. Now that she's not in girl sizes, it's more difficult to find great deals. We did find one coat that we both loved -it was only $299 - and that was discounted! Um, I think we took a pass on that one. :)

It's back to school tomorrow, and the big board of ed meeting at night. Will they close the school I work at? Or, will they pick an different one? Then it's the huge list of budget cuts that's proposed. For now, I'll just deal with making it until next week, when there's no school!!

More stitching finishes

I just finished more candle mats. Last week I sent 8 to a shop in Florida. This week, I stitched another 6 (2 of each of the above patterns ~ adorable patterns by Rhonda at Primitive Stitches). I used a mini cranberry & cream homespun for the backing, and really liked the way they turned out. Now I need to iron them, and see if they are all going to FL, or if any will be on Ebay. I do have one extra gingerbread mat that I will put on my selling blog as soon as I take some photos (or if anyone is interested, let me know). I've also started some snowman stitchery ornies/mini pillows. I have the stitching done, and just need to sew them into a pillow. I think I want to do it by hand, so that they stitches will show on the outside ~ I''m thinking of mini x's all around. That's my project for tonight.

This weekend, James had a scout outing to the zoo. Looks like the fountain/pool that is behind them is closed for the winter. It sure was a great weekend outside ~ warm & sunny - and this is in November!

The school that I work during the lunch hour at is most likely being closed at the end of this year. So, I'll be looking for another job. Maybe something with more hours and better pay, but with some flexibility in hours. Yep, I'm looking for the ideal job that doesn't exist! :) But, I know something is out there and I just have to wait and find out what.

I'm off to make some bread for Russ' annual turkey lunch at work tomorrow. He signed me up for a couple loaves of homemade bread. Time to get out the bread machine to make the dough, then bake it in a regular oven. Should I make cinnamon raisin or onion cheese bread?? Hmmm.. both sound good, so maybe both!

Tip of the Day / Year!!

I found this goose at a thrift store yesterday. I thought it was cute. But that's the problem, it's "cute". But I bought it anyways. For $3.50, I could afford to ruin it, or use it as a pattern to make something similar ~ but NOT cute.

First, I removed the green bow (green isn't my color). I also removed the green ivy that was stapled with the grapevine.


Then the problem of removing the heart. Yes, it was "cute" in 1985, but not now. I googled how to remove glue from wood, and found my tip of the day. I could make this the tip of the year, as I can now use it on more items!! To remove wood that's glued together, use vinegar. Just plain old vinegar. I poured on several tablespoons onto the heart area (the goose was over the kitchen sink) and left it for a couple hours. After 2+ hours, I took a scrapper, and carefully pried the heart off the goose ~ and it worked!!!! Just one small dot of paint came off, most likely where I tried to pry it off without waiting the couple hours. I'm waiting for the wood to dry before I continue. (The wood was soft from being soaked with vinegar.) I'm hoping a quick sanding will remove all traces of the glue. Now to decide on what to do with the grapevine.....

So, if you find any thrift store items and want to update them by removing hearts, give this a try. I can't guarantee that it won't ruin the finish of paint or stain, but you can always re-paint and stain the item. Happy thrift store hunting!

HaPPy HaLLoWeeN!

I've found a new place to hang the bunny painting. It's the upstairs hallway. I took down a sampler that I had stitched years ago, and will move that to the dining room. It's a pattern from a historical sampler, and has LOTS of stitches in it. I don't like the frame that it's in, so I think that will on the list for painting and staining. Blue would be an obvious choice for color, but I'm leaning towards a tan or brown.


This chubby squirrel has finally chewed his way through the entire pumpkin! Yesterday there were 3 squirrels all fighting to get to the inside of the pumpkin and it's prized seeds. They managed (in between their fights) to clean out the entire inside of the pumpkin. I'm wondering if they will touch the 2 pumpkins sitting on the front step. It might be a little too close to the door for their comfort, but you never know!



Here's James all set to go trick or treating. He went out for quite a while, and got a ton of candy. Much of the candy disappeared last night, as he didn't like some of it and gave it away.

Rachel is on the left. She had a couple friend come over to trick or treat, then have pizza and hang out. Everyone thought she was Hannah Montana, but she was dressed as a Barbie doll (too cold to wear a dress, so she wore jeans). Matt helped me hand out candy. We didn't have as many kids as in previous years. I think the kids are getting too old, and not as many new littler kids. So, those that came got more candy!
It's now November, so time to switch the clocks back. I'll be goofed up all week with the time change. It's also my parent's 51st anniversary! Happy Anniversary to them!