Apron Swap...

Wheeeee! here we go again,,, another fab-u-lus "Shawnee's Apron Swap"...
For my secrete apron swap pal,,, here ya go:

Shawnee's Secret Santa Apron Swap Questionnaire

1. What are your hobbies?
2. "Crafting"
4. What are your favorite colors?
5. "Green and Purple"
7. Do you collect anything?
8. "Vintage 1950-60's memorabilia and anything "Glamping'. "
10. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals?
11. "No"
13. Do you have any pets?
14. Yes, 2 Himalayan kitties"
16. Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate?
17. "All 3"
19. What do you like to read?
20. "Victoria mag, Vtg. Cottage mag" etc.
22. Do you prefer Cookies or Candies as a sweet?
23. "both"
25. What is your favorite holiday treat?
26. "Marzipan"
28. Describe your favorite holiday tradition.
29. "Gluhwine.. I was born in Germany and tradition, we have warmed spiced wine in cold weather"
31. Did you believe in Santa as a child?
32. "Yes"
34. When do you open presents?
35. "Christmas Eve"
37. Do you put up a tree and when?  If not, how do you celebrate?
38. "Tree usually goes up after Thanksgiving".
40. Does your tree have a theme?
41. "I change my Tree each year"
43. What has been your favorite gift to give?  to receive?
44. "To give- hand stitched anything and to receive, hand stitched anything"
45. Ho Ho Ho!

Dear Andria

Dear Andria,
Thank you so very much....

 I received a surprise package in the mail and here is what was inside... this sweet wool owl... but wait!

 look what was on the other side...

 a photo of Andria and Don,  a photo of Gary, Larry the Llama and me, and

a photo of Doug and Candy...and memories of our home....
What wonderful memories....
Thank you Andria....

Monday Smiles...

Today after taking care of a bunch of errands.... we stopped off at our P.O. Box to pick up our mail... and Oh My! lookie lookie what was in the box...

a package from Seneca, NY....

and look what was inside....

 sweet little goodies just for me...

I love the spice scented kitty pin keeper....
How did I come about all these sweet goodies you ask?  why Dear Nancy~jo was having a blog drawing and I was the lucky name drawn... Whoot Whoot!
Thank you so very much Nancy~jo

Saturday....

Oh where do I begin?  
Well first thing Saturday, hubby dearest and I drove up the mountain to Oakhurst to the Hardware store to pick up a few items as well as to check out the  little community swap meet...and yes, even though I have a garage full of unpacked boxes,, I still managed to find a few must haves to bring home...

The wedding dress pattern is from 1960 and was used,, I can't even imagine making a dress like this... The little Conestoga Wagons is/are a salt & pepper shaker set from good old Knottsberry Farm. They have the little oval shaped paper stickers on the bottom that say, 'Made in  Japan'... so I am guessing pre 1970's....
I luv the tissue box and dusting powder holder...perfect for my vintage camp trailer.
The wooden knitting needles are Ginormous! ,, I don't know why I bought them,,, as I don't knit! lol!

So after we had fun at the swap meet we drove over to another vintage shop that was going out of business... and yep, more 'must haves'...

 Score! a sweet vintage apron pattern...

 I could not resist this sweet childs hand made underslip...

 hand stitched on netting... it is very fragile and very beautiful.

 I scored a total of 27 vtg sewing patterns...

 The child's  underslip, 2 pairs of leather  ladies gloves, a vtg. ladies floral hat...

 stitched linens and this lovely pillow cover...

and last but not least... this fun  1970's ladies day dress with applique trim.

Then hubby dearest and I headed back to our community were the annual Tarantula Fest was going on... and yep, both hubby and I took turns holding a tarantula...

 This is a 'big' hand carved wooden tarantula on top of a building... did I mention Big?

Gary holding his newest friend... yes, I held it to, but forgot to have Hubby take a photo.

I love a good Saturday play day... how about you?

Tis the Season... sort of...

Well it's official, it's that time of year when the tarantulas come down out of the mountains in search of a mate... or that it is going to rain... either way,,, they are here...

 Meet our newest neighbor....

Gary bravely scooped this guy up to re-deposit at the far end of our property... sorry fella, no room at the Inn.... lol!

Newest Apron...

My newest apron just arrived,,,, and it will be perfect for me to wear when I am delivering baked goodies to my neighbors for 'National Tie One On Day' in  November (read below)...
Thank you CeeJay at '  www.cjscreations-ceejay.blogspot.com  '

Almost....

It's almost time for NTOOD....
What's that? you don't know what NTOOD is? go to  www.apronmemories.com   blog site to find out... but here is a little clue:

If you have a copy of 'The Apron Book' by EllynAnne Geisel,,, then you know what NTOOD is!
I know I'll be caring and sharing in November!

5-min Crafting Moment

I spotted this cute idea somewhere on the internet or a magazine... I forget where... but I thought, I can do that! easy peasy if you pleasy!

 cute, don't ya think?

Well here is mine in a golden color... I even added a little tendril like you would see on a vine.

I am ready,,, how about you? 

!st Dinner.....

OK so we have been living amongst chaos for the past 2 weeks,,, but I just had to add some normalcy to our world,,, and invited our dear friends, Pam and Ray for dinner.... yes, I found enough pans, dishes and wine glasses to pull it off!

They brought me the lovely plant.... I brought the wine...  :>)
Tonite we had Brie cheese & crackers then onto Raviolis, veggies and a Amaretto cake topped with Nutella & whipped cream... oh Yum!  I may not be 'Martha' but I can pull together a yummy dinner in the midst of trying to move in to our home.... by the way, tomorrow our new carpet gets installed Yippee!....Then we can really start to unpack and get settled in! Finally!
Happy Wednesday!

Meet Hairy

Meet Hairy... my latest rescue,,, for my friends who know me, know that I will m iss lunch dates,, and cut my shopping time short to rescue an animal... well today it was Hairy... Gary spotted the tarantula slowing crossing the side road to the Post Office,,, I said stop,,, jumped out of the car and scooted 'Hairy' across to the other side... then I ran back to the car grabbed my camera to take a photo of him... Now I have heard that tarantulas can jump,,, I don't know if that is true,,, but if he had,,, my friends in Colorado would have heard me scream.... lol! SO what did you rescue today?    :>)

FYI,,, October 26 is the annual Tarantula Fest up here in Coarsegold,  ya'll come visit!

Bragging Oma....

In Germany, where I was born, I was raised to call my German grandparents, Oma and Opa... so naturally when my daughter and her husband adopted 3 wee ones,,, I was now the Oma....

 Sweet Leilei just turned 4... OMG! where did the time go?

 Jaja and her trusty side kick, Bella,,, make a great pair... sort of the Dynamic Duo!

And poor Aideman... he has to take power naps to re-store his energy to keep up with his 2 sisters...

To say I love my grandkiddos is an understatement... I love them "to the moon and back"....
It's great to be an Oma!

Here is the link to my daughters blog,,, about life as a Foster/Adoptive Parent

http://lifeafteryouadoptafosterchild.blogspot.com

 

Where Do We Go From Here: I am tired

lifeafteryouadoptafosterchild.blogspot.com

And the Fun Begins!

Now for the fun stuff,,, the stripping of wall paper, the removal of that old fashioned 'popcorn' ceiling,,, new paint, new carpet as well as new light fixtures, faucets and ceiling fan... and if that were not enough... removing trees, shrubs and weeds from the property... oh what fun!

 it almost looks like something out of a Sci-fi flick!

 maybe we should rent the house out for Halloween.. as a Mystery House! lol!

As much as we hated to, we had to have the oak tree cut down,,, it was a safety issue... it was 10feet from the house, very overgrown and was getting ready to split which could do major damage to our house if we had a bad storm. But we do have plenty of Oak trees on our property....
I will be glad when all the renovation is done and we can settle in for the Winter....
Do feel free to roll up your sleeves and come play....  :>)

Where Did September Go!?

Where did September go? Come to think of it, where did July and August go as well?
Well, here is a bit of the past months....

 We sold our home in Washington and hit the road for California.

 My dearest friend, and I haven't seen each other in over 8 years... long over due!

 Did a lot of house hunting to find the perfect one...

 Went to a Rodeo and the County Fair..

 Moved into our new home...

And now the fun begins.... transforming the house into our home.... stay tuned... we'll be ripping, stripping, painting, planting and lots more fun things...
Another beginning..... back in California.....