Last Bit of Decorations Still Up.

These are the last bit of Christmas decoration still up,,, everything else has been packed away... except this and the Nativity out on the front lawn...

I luv the rusticness of this little wood and tin Nativity set...I will put the them away on January 1st... but for now I will continue to enjoy them.
Happy soon to be New Years!  Wowzers! 2016 is almost here...

Thank You Dear Friend...

Before I sign off for the evening,.. I just have to share one more thing... I received a small package from my lovely far away neighbor, Andrea.... we lived across the road from each other back in Spokane... I do miss her dearly.
She made these sweet felt projects for me...

 she knows I luv my kitties....

 and I luv Pearl necklaces...

 Sweet little Winter birds.....and birdhouse...

How lucky am I  to have such a wonderfully talented friend.

Shawnee's Apron Swap....

This year Shawnee hosted a 'Secrete Santa Swap" rather then an apron swap...  what fun it was to gather up goodies for our secrete swap partner...
I had fun gathering,,, but I will admit,,, I am a horrible gift wrapper...

 all kinds of goodies... and I used the word, Candle, to label the little mitten shape gift tags.

Then I mailed off the package..... I am so glad the recipient enjoyed all the goodies.

Then today I popped over to our Post Office Box to pick up the mail and wahoo! I found a package waiting for me.

 the box was had seen better days,,, but everything inside was undamaged.

 How cute my goodies were wrapped... again, I am a horrible gift wrapper....

  and look at all the goodies,,,, Hubby got a frozen dinner tonight so I didn't have to make dinner.. sooooo I could go and enjoy my goodies... (hubby is a sweetie)... I'd like to write more,,, but I want to go enjoy my goodies.. so TaTa4Now!  Oh and HoHoHo!

A Few More Projects Finished...

I was able to finish up a few more projects and send them on their way... here are a few more of the magnetic photo frames...

 This is a Table Topper quilt with a matching lap quilt (below)...

 A Hawaiian Lap Quilt for a friend... she brought the fabric from Hawaii

 We have been waking to Frost,,, but still no snow,,,  Hoping for a White Christmas....

Ok, time to finish up....

HoHoHo!

Christmas Crafting...

Oh,,, I am finally getting caught up with the last of my Christmas crafted gifts...
I stitched up 6 cute little quilted photo frames,,, that have magnets in the backside so they can be stuck in the refridge...
Just insert a 4x6 photo into the little corner tabs,,, you can switch out the photos when ever you want.

 the front side...

on the back side... I made a small slit in the top section,,, inserted a strip magnet and then I used fabric glue to close and seal the slit.
Now to print up some photos to insert them into the frames.

No Tree for Me...

I have always been and always will be a Christmas-aholic... but I decided not to do a big Christmas tree this year,,, instead I have set up little 'Winter scenes' around the house...

 this one by the front door makes my hubby grin when he walks in. And yes,,, that is one of those annoying singing Santa's.... lol!

 I didn't put out as many of my mini snowmen and women on the table.. to lazy to pull the box down.

 another little Winter scene....
With family way south or out of State,,, I didn't fell like setting up a tree this year,,, but I still love having little Christmas fun around the house....
It's all good... most all of my gifts have been mailed out as well as the Christmas cards...so this year hubby and I can take it easy, relax by the fire and just enjoy the peacefulness of the season.
Merry Christmas....

Time for Holiday Swap Fun...

For the past 1/2 dozen years I have been participating in Shawnee's Apron Swaps and occasional Secrete Swap fun,,, well here it is,,, that time for another of Shawnee's swap fun...
So, secrete swap partner here are a few things about me:

Some of my Things and Hobbies.

1. Favorite colors? Purple and Green
2. Do you collect anything? Fabric, anything vintage 1950's - 1960's
3. Are you allergic to any fibers, animals or foods? Nope, well maybe Brussel Sprouts! lol! 
4. Do you have any pets? 2 Himalyan kitties, our indoor fur kids and we have adopted 3 strays, our garage kitties.
5. Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate? all three  :>)
6. What do you like to read? garden & craft magazines
7. What is your favorite holiday treat? Lebekuchen (German spiced cookies)
8. Does your tree have a theme? changes every year.
9. Describe your favorite Christmas/seasonal tradition. Watching 'Christmas Vacation' with my hubby... also we celebrate with Ghulwein, a German warmed red wine with spices like a muled warm red wine.
10. .Hobbies?, stitching, crafting, gardening and of course Glamping with my gal~pals in our little vintage trailers,,, aka  our playhouse on wheels...

Ok, enough about me....  heeheehee.. time to put on a pot of tea and pull out my hidden stash of cookies!  HoHoHo!

Let the Holiday's Begin!

Oh Ya! Let the Holiday's begin...

I have been starting my Holiday season with Brandy Beans for the past 7-8 years...
While living in Spokane, WA., I would by my Brandy Beans at the German Deli as well as at Trader Joes... but now that I live here in the mountains of Central California,,, there is no German Delis to be found and the Trader Joes is a good 30min drive down the mountain... but today was  our day to drive down the mountain to go to the City to run errands and... Trader Joes.... and yes I bought not 1 but 4 boxes of Brandy Beans...
Bring on the Holiday's...

What's for Dinner?

Hey Lady... "what's fer dinner?'...

Wishing you all a very Wonderful Thanksgiving.... from our home to yours...
Gooble Gooble......

What Will Mother Nature Bring Us?

 

 

Well according to all the weather forecasting by all the weather genius' out there,,, we are suppose to have an  ' el Nino'  Winter,,, in other words... lots of rain and snow,,, So I figured I had better get ready...

 

How about you? are you ready???
lolol!

81 Years Young....

While in the kitchen this morning,,, puttering around the counter where my old mixer sits... it occurred to me,,, that the mixer was built/sold in 1934... the same year as my mom was born... oh my stars!  both are 81 years...young..

How many times have I dusted around it, peeked in the little book that came with it,, and yet never dawned on me, the year and (to me) significance.
But what was even more fun was re-reading the Warranty on the back...

 This is the manual that came with the mixer.

 I love how it was written in simple layman terms about how the warranty works...

"First go to your Dealer from whom you purchased the appliance; he can usually fix the trouble. If he can't, then write us fully, saying what the difficulty seems to be..."

Can you imagine  going to Macy's or Kmart with your non-operating mixer and having a clerk work on it there on the counter... lol!
Such were the simpler of times...

MJFGOTM....

Whoot Whoot,,, I was chosen to be the October 2015, Maryjane Farm Girl of the Month...
And look what came in the mail from one of my farm girl sistas...

 tea, a 'mug rug' some sweet post cards and bumper sticker and a sweet note to me from 'Red Tractor Girl'... what a sweet surprise.

She even stitched the mug rug and adorned it with my favorite... wee lil yoyos...
Thank you Winnie. and Farm girl hugz...

Simply Said....

Simply Said... my BFF came to visit...

Our visits are far and few between... but when we do get together... we are non-stop Talk and Laugh fest... Yes our hubbies think we are silly,, but we don't care... we just love our visits....
Hugz to you Noelle and Jay.... next time we will drive over the mountain to visit.

Dinner Guests...

It's that time of year,,, when we have dinner guests every night....

 Mama and her baby....

 Bambi snacking,,,

oh well, at least they are not out back (yet!) eating what is left of my tomatoes! lol!

Quilted Glamping Pillow...

Well I have finished the hand stitching portion of my quilted Glamping deco pillow....

 :Happy Camper" will go in our Shasta,,, after the Shasta has been re-furbished....

I think I am going to decorate it out in these fun colors of turquoise, spice red, spice orange and a hint of lime green for giggles...
I have the entire Autumn/Winter to work on deco and pillows and other goodies,,, while hubby works on the sanding and varnishing of the interior of the Shasta... I would call that an even trade off! lol!

Creativity Abounds in the Red Barn....

For my friends who live near by,,, we are so lucky to have such a fabulous shop near by...
"Kuhl by Design" is the creative world of co-creators, Rob and Jess...
Not only are they supportive of local artists but encouraging to budding artists.
Their shop has recently moved 'up the hill' to the Red Barn just above Coarsegold Village.
Tonight they had a special event to show off their new location and to spot light local artists.
I only regret my camera is not the best,, so my photos are mediocre at best... and does not do their shop justice...
But if you get a chance to pop in, do so.

 works from local artist ...

 awesome décor...

 how kool is this Gear wall wine bar....

 Kuhl by Design in the Red Barn...  Hwy 41, in the Village, of Coarsegold, CA.

A Shasta....

Look what followed us home,,,

yep,, while I was a vendor at the Peddlers Faire,,, a guy informed hubby and I that he had a 1963 Shasta for sale... long story short... She is now ours... if you go over to my Trailer blog you can read more about her...
So much for making a profit at the Peddlers Faire... my profit turned into a trailer... lol!

Peddlers Faire...

Well, on Thursday hubby and I loaded up the truck (twice) and the Jeep, and hooked up my Scotty trailer... and off to the Coarsegold Village we went for 5 days of fun in the sun,,, selling stuff and buying more stuff... lol!
Actually we were able to sell stuff that has been in storage for almost 2 years and we decided we didn't need... so on our trip home we only had one full truck load and the Jeep as well...
Now to stash the cash and was off 5 days of dust and sun and sweat,,, oh wait,,, I don't sweat,,, I Glow!!!

 This was on the last day... and yep, I was pooped!

 By this day our 'pickins' were getting slim... thank goodness....
Now to start collecting for next year! lol!

Time to Ponder...

I having been watching the news closely with all the fires that are going on in Central Washington,,, worrying that I will get a call from my daughter that they have to evacuate their home,,, not an easy task when you have live stock, 3 kids, 3 dogs and a 1/2 dozen cats... but they are emergency prepared,,, the 5th wheel is ready as is the live stock trailer..  that being said I still worry about them and my precious grand kiddos.

 

 

 

Our son-in-law is a fire fighter volunteer in training... so I am doubley nervous..

My heart goes out to all the families whose homes and lives have been devastated by these fires, as well as the responders who are fighting the fires  and all the other people who are doing what they can to help.
Blessings to them all.

Sunflowers...

We came across this fabulous Sunflower field while driving through the backside of Readon (WA.)...

Here is my beautiful daughter and her 3 kiddos.... we were at my favorite camping place, down on the Spokane River...

 I luv my kiddos.....

Windows 10, No More!

OK, I had finally had enough frustration with Windows 10,,, and un-installed it... now I am back to Windows 8.1 and my comfort zone!
Now I can post my photos... Whoot Whoot!

even my grand-girlies are happy for me!

Here I am...

Here I am... I have been having fun...
I went back to Spokane, WA., to visit with my daughter and grand-kiddos, go shopping, playing and having fun with the kiddos.

I also got to get in another Glamping trip with my Glamping Gal-pals, over in Elk River, ID... another fun week at Girl Camp...

I took lots of photos... and I would love to share them with you,,, however... ever since I updated my system from Windows 8 to Windows 10... I can not get my computer to accept down loads from my camera and worse yet... I can not upload any photos in my picture file to my blog.....

To say I am an unhappy camper is an understatement!
I have been struggling with Windows 10,,, my hubby likes it,,, but so far all I have had is headaches and frustration with Windows 10...

So rather than bore you to tears about my woos with Windows 10... I think I will open a bottle of Wine and a box of chocolate,,, after all, chocolate cures everything! lol!

Ruarl Living...

Living somewhat rural,,, up in the mountains, is not for the faint of heart and certainly not perfect for going barefoot...

I heard one of my barn kitties making a fuss,,, the fuss was over her separating a lizard from it tail... ewe... so after I disposed of the lizard,,, I discovered this... at first glance I thought it might be a young chicken ,  I am leaving it for hubby to see what his guess is. (to my friends who have chickens,,, I am so sorry..)

 I am not sure what 'it' was.... but it no longer is....

 then  as I walked back to the house I nearly stepped on these, yes,,, "Deer Raisins"... we have them all over the property,,, and sometime through the night 2 off our trash (empty) cans were knocked over.... Oh Deer!  and yes, these are a few reasons I don't go barefoot around here....

 but what really sent me over the edge was that the neighbor's pup came partly through the live stock fencing and got hold of another Gerkin plant... and this one had gerkins on it!  uugghh!

 between the Drought, Deer and the pup,,, my garden is barely surviving...even my grapevines and grape leaves are getting eaten,,, I am thinking by the grasshoppers....

all that being said... the radishes went crazy,,, and are now going to seed... but here is something I didn't know as I have never let them go to seed before... they grow little pods.. at first I thought an errant pea got planted... but nope,,, it's a radish... ahh the things we learn in the garden!