Happy Turkey Fest...

To all my dear family and friends,,, may you have a wonderful Thanksgiving....

Work Day...

Today was Work Day here on our new property....
We had a huge Oak tree that was unhealthy and way to close to the house... so long story short... the Insurance company said we had 2 options,,, pay a uber high rate and leave the tree or cut the tree down and get a decent rate... so, it was Bye-Bye tree...
Now it's time to cut the pieces down and stack,,, this wood will cure and be usable by next Fall.

 Gary had to haul the big ones over...

 Set it up for splitting...

 and I operated the machine....

 then Gary flipped the splitter upside... and split the smaller stuff..

 Gary built the cord frames... looks like 2 frames will not be enough... so Gary will have to build 2 more...

One frame nearly stacked.... will this day ever come to and end?

sooo we can kick back have a glass of wine and relax...and think about all the other work projects we have lined up!  lol!

 

It's Here! Wahooo!

Look what came in the Post today...

I am sooo excited to open it...

from 'Sassy Apron' girl....   

 I particitpated in a Holiday Apron Swap hosted by Shawnee aka 'swapmama'....
WE are given a secrete swap partners name... we peek into their blog and create an apron that fits their personality, intrests etc... add a few goodies in the package and send it befor Thanxgiving so the recipient can wear their apron for the Holidays...

Is this cute or what!... I can hardly wait till next Thursday to wear mine!
Thank you Shawnee for hosting and Thank you Sassy Apron Girl....
I Luv it!
 oh and check out Sassy Aprons etsy shop at: www.sassyapron.etsy.com

Tired and Happy and a Barbie Game...

So, for some reason it is taking us (me) forever to get settled into this home....
We needed to get up into the attic and clean out all the boxes the previous owners left behind... and since it rained last night and the temp was only in the low 60's we decided today was the day to go up there... (hotter then blue blazes otherwise).... we dragged all the empty (or so we thought) boxes out,, and to our delight we came across a few surprise boxes left behind.... (elderly couple passed away).... We decided to finish cleaning before we opened the boxes... we swept, and vacuumed a ton of mice droppings and acorns (don't ask)... and yes we wore eye glasses, gloves and respirator.... not gonna take any chances.... so after we got it all cleaned up we opened up the boxes... and here is what we found...
1. in it's original box, a punch bowl set, complete with ladle, cups, hooks and bowl.
2. Two nice large heavy mirrors still in their box.
3.  two shoe boxes that had been turned into dolly trunks... filled with assorted dolly clothes including faux mink wrap, and 2 pairs of dolly Nylons! yes nylons! Omg!
4. a sweet Indian Maiden doll in real suede clothing.
5. assorted vtg. games from the late 1950's
but the best find of all.... drum roll please...
a "Barbie Game'... yes a near perfect 1960 Barbie Dream Date game!  have you any idea how I coveted that game?

 OMG! I am beyond Tickled Pink!

 sorry the photos didn't turn out better...

 Look! it's Ken and his buddies...

I remember so remember playing this game....

Daddy was career Army and we moved every two years... so we lived and traveled light....
All I was able to keep was my 2 Barbies and the clothes that fit in their vinyl carry case...
I wanted this game so very much but was never able to have one of my own..

As a Military Brat,,, making friends was not very easy for me,,, make a new friend and then either they moved or we did... so my Barbies were my one constant 'friend' in my life.... until daddy retired and we settled down   and then I no longer needed my Barbie friends...I gave them to my little sister and then I discovered Boys! 
One boy in particular caught my eye and now, here we are 41 years later... He is my 'Ken" and I am his 'Barbie'...  thou we have morphed into Lucy & Rickie! lol!
Oh and yep,,, I am going to make him play this game with me! he just doesn't know it yet! lol

North or South?

North bound...

 South bound...

 and home bound... Meet Dexter,,, a sweet pet pig we met on our journey...

Dexter thinks he is a dog... he didn't get the email that he is a piggy! lol!
Thanx Diane for sharing your sweet Dexter with when we visited.

Elna...

My mother, like so many moms of the 1950's & 1960's, sewed just about everything... and she did it all on a 'green machine'... her Elna...

 So when I saw this photo on pintrest,,, it brought back a flood of memories... memories of me watching mom sewing,, begging mom to let me sew on her machine...and (self taught) learning how to sew... my first major sewing project was a pleated skirt and matching vest (1968)...  wish I had kept that outfit... Years followed with me sewing most of my funky hip-hugger pants, Prom dresses, graduation outfit and then onto sewing clothes for my own daughter...
When I turned 17 mother bought me a raspberry pink 'Brother' sewing machine... the most basic beginner machine back then... and I used it for about 10+ years.... then I moved onto a more advanced machine..."Infinity" and continued to sew for the next 10 years on that machine...  I didn't like how the machine functioned,,, always had issues with it... so about 8 years ago I bought another good old dependable Brother,, nothing fancy,,, just a work horse... and it is still my 'go-to' machine! )and I have lots of sewing machines in my collection)!
We recently moved from Washington state back down to California and I just came across mom's old Elna... you know, I think it is time to clean and  oil the old 'green machine' and maybe sew an apron on it....

In a Corner..

Yikes! I unpacked myself into a corner... silly me!

 yep, found my sewing machines.. if only I could find my fabrics!!!

same goes for my sewing and crafting books... I found my bookcase... where oh where are my books and patterns!