A Tisket A Tasket....

A Tisket A Tasket,,, look what's in my basket....
Don't you love a colorful bounty? Tomatoes, Sweet peppers, Bell peppers and Snow peas...
Oh and Dahlias..... Oh My Word! I have grown Dahlias...for the first time and I Love them!
I love going out and picking a couple of Dahlias each day, they just brighten up the kitchen...
Well off to go make some more Freezer Salsa.  

5-minutes...

Got 5-minutes and a cup of Tea?
Hope over to my other Blog...
and visit me...  

Pour yourself a cup of tea first,,,, then come see what I have been up to this weekend, with my gal~pals and our trailers....just click on the little 'trailer icon' on the right side....  Happy Trails!

Sweet Surprise...

Oh my word!  what a sweet surprise!  My dear friend, Sherry stopped by yesterday and look what she brought me....and yep, she made the birdhouse! I Luv It!  Thank you Sherry... that was 'so tweet' of you!   I luv the mug too! I have re-potted the 'Hens-n-Chicks' and washed the mug. It will go in my trailer!   :>)

I See Red....

 I don't know why I have been so enamored with the color red lately,,, but I just have been enjoying the 'pop' it lends to everything....

 I finally finished and hung these re-purposed goodies....on my kitchen wall... I used burlap to anchor the frames... the frames just looked lost before I attached the burlap bows.

I think I will add a small floral swag above the frame (above the door) to add some interest. 
Hmmm, what else can I spray paint red... here kitty kitty... lol!
I don't think 'hubby dearest' is to fond of my 'red addiction'...but like I said, "Christmas is coming and look out,,,I have a basement full of decorations and I am Not afraid to use them!"... lol!

Spray Paint & Projects...

 I have been asked what type/color of red spray paint I use most and well folks,,, here it is... the cheap $1.59 Walmart special...... the more coats of paint applied, the darker  and richer the color....

 My dear (retired Home-EC teacher) neighbor, Andrea...loves to craft with wool and has gotten me addicted to it as well!  This is our most recent project... mini-penny rugs...for small candle votives.... Since I have a Serro Scotty trailer...she thought we needed to make Scotty rugs...and 'sew' we did!  lol!  I themed them..."One in every Crowd" can you guess why?  It was Andrea's clever idea to add the rhinestones.

 Almost done! I have been working on this project for over a year...what can I say...'slow and easy wins the race...and gets the project done'...lol!
I painted the frame, a Thrift store find for $1....had a piece of glass cut for it...now to assemble everything and hang it on the wall in my kitchen.... Yes, the Whistle Stop Cafe recipe is from the movie, 'Fried Green Tomatoes'.... one of my favorites movies.

 This past Saturday I was at a darling little vintage-arts-n-crafts fair put on by Brenda at Past Blessings Farm. I noticed a lot of vendors had re-purposed burlap projects...like recovered lamp shades with burlap fabric, pennants/buntings done in burlap and even seat benches recovered in burlap...hmmm,,,, could burlap be the new velvet? lol!
When I spotted this burlap coffee bean sack I just had to buy it! $3.00 and when I got home, to my surprise...I found a small handful of (un-roasted) java beans in it! Hmmm...wonder if I can roast/toast them in my toaster oven...grind and brew myself a cup-o java? haha!

Best of all... Fair trade & Organic.... I should have asked what coffee shop this came from.....I certainly would like to stop in and patronize it.

Gardening....

 Well, here we are, near the end of August and my garden is still taking it's time....
I did get to harvest some of my Sunflowers this morning...the larger of the two has a 11" head...not the biggest that I have ever grown...but I don't think the wild birds will complain while pecking at the seeds...

 This is what I got this morning...from my garden...tomatoes, 1 cucumber and a few sweet peppers... I have 'Eary Girl' tomatoes as well,,,, but they are still orange on the vine...I suspect they will all ripen at the same time...Can we say 'Salsa'?  haha!

 Ok, when I was a little girl living with my Oma in Germany...she grew Gooseberries,,, the green ones...and I use to love to pick and eat them... So I was delighted when I found some plants at the local Nursery two years ago. What I did not know was that there was a red variety, which is what grows best up here...
However...harvesting Gooseberries is not for the thin of blood or thin of skin... these bushes have gnarly thorns! But I am willing to do battle with them for the delicious reward of a handful of berries...

 There are only a few left.....the size of grapes and red in color make them easy to spot....

 I am even willing to shed a bit of blood to get a small handful!  lol!

 OK, as some of you know... I am a California girl through and through! And that being said,,, I love Avocados...so what's a Cali gal suppose to do with an avocado seed? Why plant it of course... yeah yeah I know...Avocado trees can't grow in Washington...but for now, I'll grow it on my balcony, then into the house for the Winter...and someday when I go back home (SO.CAL) to visit my mom and sister, I'll take it with me to plant in their yard....Why do I do it? Just because I can!  :>)

Ok, speaking of seeds... I had a couple of 'Golden Delicious' apple seeds from an apple I was eating,, and thought...hmmm..... so I planted them in a small cup and one actually managed to grow! Holy Kowszers! Now I need to grow a friend for it! lol!  Hey Johnny Appleseed,,, look at what I grew!

More Crafting Fun...

 Awhile back my gal~pal, Sherry and I did a little Junktiquing,,, to which I found this 'cabinet door front' for a dollar...needless to say... it is now a serving tray... I cleaned it up, painted it,,attached old forks and knobs & Voila! instant tray!  But now I am thinking I will switch out the white knobs for glass knobs...so off to Hobby Lobby I go ... (insert big goofy grin!)
Yep, I found yet another Liquor Decanter... for Sherry's new old trailer, an Aladdin...to which she has dubbed "Jeannie" after the old TV show, 'I Dream of Jeannie'... it looks like a Genie's bottle don't you think?

 I was trying to get a better photo of the tray,,,so you could see the engraving in the silver forks, but alas...no matter where I staged it in the house, it didn't come out very well.

 I found this at a local Thrift...could not resist...added a bit of Raffia and bling and it now hangs in my Scotty trailer,,,

I also found this at the Thrift...it still had the 'Target" price tag hanging on it ($14.99)...but was framed in a blah, plain black frame... so I removed the frame, dug through my 'some day stash'...and found this wooden frame which I then painted red...so way better looking now! So for a .97cent Thrift item, a cast off frame, some paint...I have a sweet framed mini appliqued quilt.... Now,,, where shall I put it?

Weeding & Watering...

 Well between weeding and watering... we have been working on the horse barn...Gary is finishing up the cedar siding and then it is on to the roofing...(last will be running water & electricity)

 Remember... "Measure twice...Cut once"...

 Got Hay?

Let me tell you, hoisting 72bales of hay into a shed is no easy task,,, and we have 14 more to stash in the ManCave plus we will be getting some more from the 2nd cutting that is now being done at the ranch next to us... we'll have hay coming out of our ears if we are not careful! lol!