Now that the Snow is Gone...

Now that the snow is gone, our trees are blooming, and I can almost taste the juicy red apples...

I can enjoy my walks from the mailbox back to the house....

I can sit and enjoy watching my lavender wake up and get ready to bloom...

I can enjoy walking from the back of our property toward the house, and sitting out by my little camp trailer dreaming of upcoming Glamping Trips...

I can anticipate sitting out buy the outdoor fire pit, knowing that hubby~dearest & I cut all this wood.

Now that the snow is gone,,, I can enjoy summer and all the joys that come with it.

Free Pallets....

We love free pallets...they come in handy for so many things, like keeping our tractor implements off the ground, as well as our firewood off the ground.

Gary came across this idea, found on the internet, on how to build a compost bin from pallets.

How cool is that!

Now to get enough 'green waste' to fill & start 'growing' my own fresh wonderful compost!

The left over pallets will be used to construct Blue Bird houses and anything left over from that project will go in the firewood stack. Gotta love free pallets!

Look What "Ted's " has....

When we lived in Moorpark, CA. we bought this little Bear wood carving from a couple who were parked along the side of the road, their story was that they were on fumes & needed gas money..so the guy sat a dozen or so of wood carvings out front of their camper to sell....
We bought this one and it has been with us for a good 6 years now....
'Ted's" wasn't to happy when we dragged him from warm sunny California to snowy raining Washington, but Gary made 'Ted's' this cool tree perch to watch the birds and world go by,,,wait, is that a smile I see on Ted's face????

What's Wrong with this Picture?

Ok, I have to admit, these "Smart Cars" are cute in an itty bitty way,,, but it did look really out of place at .....

in the parking lot of COSTCO..where people buy mega ginormous amounts of products.

AAAGGGHHH!

AAAAGGGHHH! Is it just ME? or does Blogger not like ME? or what? Lately I have been getting emails from friends saying that Blogger won't let them post on my blog, that it keeps routing them back to 'Blogger Sign-in'.... and I have noticed that lately I can not get into my blog even if I was in it a few minutes ago....I was adding pictures and each time I had to re-sign in...
Today I tried to post in two different blog sites and it kept sending me back to the 'Blogger Sign-in' page and after signing in, and typing in the 'scramble word' it would send me right back to the original Blog sign in page...I finally just gave up, and tore into my (last) stash of M&M's....
after all,,, "Give me some chocolate, and no one gets hurt!"...lol!

Shopping Tote...

Hmmmm, what is it?

Haha! could it be a 'Kitty Tote' ?????

I luv my 'tote' and Peekie gives it her approval too!

I have seen these at Boutiques but with a rather pricey tag.....but while I was in Germany I noticed that these are quite popular and they range in price from moderate to pricey....needless to say, even with the Dollar to Euro conversion this was so worth buying.....and I luv it. It folds up flat, light weight and looks cute (even with out a kitty in it) when I take it to market.

**update...I was in WallyWorld (Wal-mart) the other day and lo and behold,,, I spoted totes just like this one in vibrant colors...and for only $6.99, OMG! and to think I bought and dragged this one all the way from Germany... but that's ok, because I still love it and it's sweet rose print.

Besides, Peekie loves it too and that is all that matters! lol!

Jada M. Lutz, May 20th 2011

What a great day for the Lutz & Brown families.......

Oma (me) and my little Soleil aka Leilei, waiting for the big moment when her sister becomes her legal sister....Happiness abounds!

Everybody raise your hand and repeat after me...... lol!

It's Official! Jada M Lutz and Soleil M Lutz are our grandbabies... We are all so blessed.

And now to celebrate....Ice Cream for everyone....wahoooo!

Leilei,,,,,,yep, she had ice cream too! lol!

We often call Jada, Phoobee...so how more appropriate then a 'Beehive' cake...

Oh and we call Soleil, Leilei-Ladybug....we just love them both to bits-n-pieces.

Ah,,,how cute is this... cupcakes for everyone!

What on earth did Opa give you? What is that? oh ya, a popper....looks like it's more fun to chew on then pop....lol!

What I have been up tooooo!

Don't you just Love wonderful finds? I found this cool wine caddy, it was tarnished silver with a price tag of only $1.00 at a yard sale...For those of you who know me,,,know I luv spray paint.. so some pink paint, tarnished rack and voila! instant cute!
Now I can serve one of my favorite wines, OPOLO, to my guests in style.

Don't you just love it......

This is the 'before' of the wine caddy...oh and licence plate purse was $3 and the cocktail shaker was only $1....just love unexpected yard sale finds!

My hubby asking Peekaboo kitty who she thinks will win "American Idol"....

Both are glued to the T.V...waiting to see who will win...shhhh!

A little friend who dropped in...This 1 of the 2 Hummingbirds that come to our feeder daily.

Happy Camper & friends...

We had flamingos sneak in to join the fun! Have a trailer slumber party & you never know who or what is going to show up! lol!

It's Glamping Time!

Yep! it's Glamping season,,,well, almost...but 2 of my Glamping Gal Pals & I snuck in a weekend of back yard Glamping along with a day of fabulous junktiquing, food, fun & friendship....
Sneak over to my trailer blog to take a peek..who knows, you just might feel the need to own a little vintage trailer of your own to do a little back yard Glamping!.

A Little of This & That....and Stuff!

Yep, I think Spring is around the corner...(fingers crossed) the Doves have returned and are eating like there is no tomorrow!

Look what popped up in the mail..a wonderful B-day gift from my dear friend, Bev.

I love scented soaps, one of my weakness'.... and a cute Spring handbag made from remnant upholstery fabric....and a sweet little birdnest w/egg....Love it all! Thank you Bev.

A very sleepy 'Peek-a-boo'...snoozing with her favorite Teddy Bear...(Gary).

When I asked what Phoobee what she wanted to be for Halloween this year she showed me...

a "kitty play tent"......Kool! won't have to sew a costume this time... lol!

Germany April 2011

Well here we are & Irmgard, my childhood best friend is capturing our 1st few moments...

This is the little village of Meimsheim. It was settled in 1577,(yep did my History).

The view to the right is a little family run store. and across the street ( out of view) is the Bakery shop we frequent nearly every morning.

Family gathering,,,left to right is Wilfried (Irmgard's hubby), my mom, my Aunt Uschi & Uncle Karl~heinz and my Aunt Brigitte & Uncle Herman.
Irmgard & I were behind the camera taking photos.

Me, settling into our little apartment. My mom & I were 'roommates' for 2 weeks.

This is a Tavern around the corner from where we were living in Meimsheim.

Mom and I enjoyed our daily walks....and we enjoyed all the old buildings as well as all the flowers & trees in bloom.

Taking a break by the old community water well.

Mom and I doing what we do best...shopping! Notice the 'Starbucks' in the background?

Wow has downtown Heilbronn changed since I last visited 7 years ago.

We took a quick trip to Heidelberg,,,and lo & behold,,,I spotted a "Woolworth" store!

I haven't seen a Woolworth store since I moved from Ft. Riley Kansas in 1969.

Irmgard & I visiting Mr Easter Bunny...and once again...a Starbucks is behind us.

Yep, just like I remembered,,,a Castle on almost every berg...

My favorite meal....Weinerschnitzel and Spetzle...YUMMMY!

Hornle is a popular eatery up on the side of a hill with vineyards surrounding it.

Gary & I ate here the last time we were here. You can sit on the terrace, enjoy good food, good beer & a great view of Brackenheim, Meimsheim & on a clear day you can even see Heilbronn.

And to our delight we came across a "Flomarkt" .... translation...a Flea Market.....and yes we got some terrific must have finds! lol! My mom & I bought Dirndls (German dresses)..Irmgard wanted this Dirndl but it just didn't fit so she settled for a Bavarian skirt.

You never know what silliness will happen at a family gathering,,,but we were full of the 'sillies'...

left to right is Irmgard, myself, Aunt Uschi, my mom, my cousin's wife & Wilfried.

My Uncle Karl~heinz & I are listening to his wife, Aunt Uschi.....

My cousin Andres' (Andy) and his new wife...they just announced that she is expecting a baby.

Here I am taking a break, reading (ok so I am not really reading) my MaryJane's Farm magazine. I am in the village of Brackenheim, which is about 3kilometers from Meimsheim.

Mom walking with Valerie. Val is the granddaughter of Irmgard. We decided to do a little shopping while in Brackenheim.

The apartment on the 2nd floor was where my Opa lived back in the mid 1960's until he passed away. My mom, lil sister, Suzan & I lived there to for several months until we moved to Munich back in 1965.

Thursday's are Farmers Market day in the Stadt Zentrum by the Court House in Heilbronn.

This is the Court House where my parents were married under German law. They were wed later on the American Military Base in Heilbronn.

Behind this house is my Oma Gertrude's house until she passed away in 1962. My mom sold the home and surrounding land and as is with all neighborhoods, several homes were built on and around the original family home. But the home is still there, as is the Apple tree that I loved as a child. I almost didn't recognise the home as it had received a complete face lift and now looks like the one I am standing in front of.

Out for an afternoon to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather, Irmgard, little Val, Wilfried & Denis.

Ok, so when I was about 10 years old, my Opa took me to this little German version of Storyland...and the one place I remembered after all these years was/is the Hansel & Gretel house....so here I am,,,again,,,but a wee bit old than 10 and the first place I wanted to go to was, yep, the Hansel & Gretel house! Oh silly me!

Always remember to look up! Lot's of cool old towers remain un-destroyed from the war or have been re-built and preserved like this one.

Oops! forgot to turn this photo... I am 5'5" tall and as you can see, people 2 hundred years ago where much shorter.

Uncle Herman is my mother's brother, actually Herman & I are only 4 years apart...He was one of those very late in life surprises for my grandparents.

This lovely old church on the hill is surrounded by walking trails and vineyards.

OOPs! once again, I for got to rotate...my bad! Anyhow, this is mom & Herman before we headed off to the airport..... Good-byes are so sad.

Getting ready to exit for the airport in Frankfurt..... and now the journey home begins.

Did I mention we had a layover in Las Vegas? Viva Las Vegas,,,ok, I had no idea there were slot machines in the airport,,,and I actually parted with one whole dollar & guess what? I won a whopping $1.50...wahooo! I am probably the only person on the planet that goes to Las Vegas and only drops $1 in the slot machines & then walks away.... guess I just don't have that gambling blood in me. Or am I just a tight wade! lol!

The end of the trail.....well almost....I dropped mom off in Palm Springs and then I flew to Seattle and then back to Spokane... Mom & I spent 2 days in airport terminals....but that's a whole different story & adventure!

Oh and at this point I had about 3 hours of sleep in 36 hours...I can't believe my eyes were still open! lol! Happy Trails & glad to be home.