Happy (?) Monday.....

So it's Monday already. Why does the weekend go so fast. Busy day at work.

When I arrived home the garage door was up. No big deal right, Lake was at home. I'm sure he put Sugar Bear in the backyard, right.



Sugar Bear is my moms little dog that I inherited so to speak. He will be 15 years old in November. Doesn't see very well, only hears what he wants to hear and pees everywhere.

Well guess what, Lake didn't put him in the backyard. He thought he had closed the garage door. So guess who make a great escape.

The fun begins.

I get in the car and start driving around the neighborhood, Lake heads to the park at the end of our street.

No Sugar Bear.

I was ready to give up when I see one of our neighbors heading down the street. He stops and guess who is sitting in the passenger seat. Sugar Bear. He was getting a ride to the dog pound! Thank goodness I was out in the yard.

So to say stressed is a understatement.

But... once I returned inside, calming drink in hand, the doorbell rings and this is what the UPS man delivers:



Yea, the day just got so much better. I'm am relaxing on the couch, calming drink still in hand and deciding what Italian dish to try first.

Happy Monday!

Ready for Summer

I am ready for summer! Today was the 1st day to have the pool ready for a swim. Les, Kristen, Whitney and I hung around the pool. Ate fresh fruit, turkey burgers (yum) and corn chips.



We had a ball. Yup I'm ready for Summer!!!!

After

Day three without my mother ... I never ever dreamed it would be this hard. I miss you terribly. I have been on auto-pilot for the last six months. Mentally and physically exhausted but never realizing what the reality was going to be. I know in my heart that you are better off. Free of the horrible pain. I wish I could of heard your thoughts, knowing the end was near. I know that daddy welcomed you with open arms. He waited 26 years for you to join him in heaven but I wish that you were still here.

Mom, I will carry you with me for the rest of my days. I only hope that when I see you and daddy again, that I will have made you proud. God speed mommy - I love you!

Angels

Angels all around us, we don't always know they're here.

Standing guard for God until he's ready to take us in his care.

Be his shining beacon. Sing his praises high.

Angels all around us, let them know we know they're here.

Gypsy

This is Gypsy

she is my grand dog.

She is also Roxy's sister.

Gypsy lives with my daughter Kristen but comes to grandma's house often to play.


Lilly is never too pleased when Gypsy comes to play.

Have a great week!

The NOT Heart Healthy Breakfast

If you are on a diet, watching your carbs or just a healthy eater, this is not something you would eat for breakfast. But if you are a southern girl with a manly man for a husband and a teenage son, I highly recommend biscuits and sausage gravy to start out your day.



This is the way to start a busy day.

Photography Lessons #1

Last summer I decided to take a photography class at a Bedford's Camera & Video here in central Arkansas. I still had my Cannon AE One camera my father purchased for me when I was the photographer for my high school newspaper. That was 30 years ago. I wanted to bone up on my skills and get back to something I have always enjoyed doing.

Periodically I would like to share some of my experiences with you.

First, after the second class and seeing some of the photos taken by others in the class, I went out and purchased myself a Nikon digital camera. I love this camera. I could feel my confidence growing and wanted to plan trips to take photos.

One of the classes was on shutter speed.

What I discovered was the camera did it's part the problem was timing.


Too soon!


Too late!


Third time is a charm.

Funny Signs

Have you ever been driving along and seen a billboard that just made you laugh? Could be the picture on it or the message itself.

Last summer while we were spending some time up at the white river so that Les and Lake could do some trout fishing, Les and I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few items. I was sitting in the truck looking around and I spotted this sign,



Huh?

Is there a vintage, antique or non-modern elevator?

I hope this sign has been there a while. Just forgotten and not something that was put up last year!

I hope that this one puts a smile on your face too.

The Eyes Have It

I wanted to share some of my daughter Kristen's artwork. She did a series of different colored eyes.


Beautiful blue


Lovely green


Elizabeth Taylor violet


And one I like to call, A Look Into The Future

Until next time.

What I Love About Winter

There's not much that I like about winter. We don't get much snow here in central Arkansas. We might get inch every couple of years but usually if we get anything, it's ice and that's a nightmare.

So, what do I love about winter?


A lovely warm fire!

Lilly Bell and Roxanne

I'd like to introduce you to my babies.



Lilly Bell aka Lilly, a 5 year black Pomeranian who started out as my grand dog that I adopted (okay stole) from my daughter. Lilly has always thought that she was a guard dog and now that we have Roxy she really acts like the Queen of the house.



Roxanne aka Roxy, is a 9 month old yellow Labrador, is my first experience with a big dog. She does let Lilly win most battles, which cracks me and my husband up daily. Roxy does not like to go outside until Lilly gives the okay. Roxy will just run to the door and run back to Lilly as to say, "Come on, it will be fun" until Lilly finally gives in and goes outside.

I have had more fun with these two, even when I am picking up the 5, 6 or 10 toys they have pulled out of their toy basket.

Cooking Day

Today was cooking day. Les had boiled a whole turkey for me last weekend in anticipation for turkey andouille gumbo this weekend.

I ran to the store this morning for some last minute items needed and returned to start my cook-a-thon.

First up, the cutting and chopping for the gumbo. The recipe I used was Emeril's Turkey Andouille Gumbo. How could I go wrong. It turned out great.

I also put together turkey spaghetti, turkey pot pie and turkey salad for later in the week. I made a bacon cheese fritatta to freeze for breakfast.

For dessert, chocolate chip cookies.

I know you want to see the photos. Unfortunately I haven't mastered the cook-a-thon and taking photos. I promise to practice.

All in all, a very successful cooking day!

New Years Day - Southern Style

Happy New Year!

In the tradition of eating certain foods to bring good luck for the upcoming year, we had a meal fit for a southern king.

Pork - so that you will have a fat wallet during the year. I read somewhere that if you eat chicken you will have to scratch all year (I must have cooked chicken last year LOL).

I choose a pork roast with all the fixin's.

On it's way to the oven.

The finished product. So good, some couldn't keep their hands off of it!

The yummy vegetables.

Greens and black-eye peas to represent dollar bills and coins. Now I only like mixed greens and I am not too fond of black-eye peas so I didn't want to cook big pots of these from scratch. So to make Sandra Lee (of Semi-homemade fame) proud, I choose to take my super market finds and enhance them.


One of the tricks I have learned is to take the canned variety of items and make them your own. So I have this handy dandy strainer that I use for canned foods. This was something that I purchased when a co-worker had a pampered chef party and I just had to buy something (you know those kind of parties)but I'm sure that these can be found at any kitchen specialty store.



I then drain and rinse the food and continue to use my spices and additions to make the final product my own recipe.

My greens.

My black-eye peas.

Of course, corn bread is a must with greens and black-eye peas.

The well seasoned cast iron skillet.

Perfection!

My mother and daughter came over to enjoy the meal with my husband, my son and myself. It was a wonderful way to start the new year!

Unfinished Business

So, I didn't get the office/craft room finished yesterday but I did make a big dent. I'll save the pictures for the finished project. I found a lot of things that I had been keeping for reasons beyond me. The most unsettling thing(s) I found were several unfinished projects. Now my craft life has evolved over the years as I'm sure yours has too. Now knitting is a passion but in my former life, it was needlework. Cross-stitch, needlepoint and embroidery. I knew about my many works in progress as far as my knitting went, but here are a few of the unfinished needlework projects I discovered:


This is a baby blanket I was making for my son's birth. He is now 15 years old!


A beautiful needlepoint Christmas stocking. I believe I started this about 12 years ago.


A cross stitch picture of hummingbirds (I love hummingbirds). I don't remember when I was working on this.


This is a bunny rabbit that I had started when I found out that I was pregnant with my son. Yes, the 15 year old son!


A cute little pansy to hang on the wall. This would have been a small project that was easy to take to the ballpark while my daughter was practicing or playing softball. Yes, this too would have been prior to the 15 year old son's birth!

I haven't started on the closet that has tubs of other needlework projects inside so I'm sure that more unfinished projects will grace these pages in the (hopefully) near future.

Cleaning Up

I decided during my Christmas holidays to clean up and clear out around the house. I have already cleaned out the linen closet. Today is the office/craft room. Here is what I'm facing today:






I'll take the after photos and keep you updated!