What makes you smile?

Do you have little things around your house that are there for you... just you.... because they make you smile? This is one of my little smile makers for myself. I made the basket years ago and bought the two raggedy heads at a shop where my daughter works. Having no idea what I would do with those two heads, I just placed them inside the basket and hung them on my laundry room door. They've been there for over a year now and still make me smile when I stop to look at them.

Where were you?

Where were you and what were you doing when the 9-11 terror struck? I'm sure none of us will ever forget that day. I was sitting at my desk at work, when my friend, Mike, who sat next to me, received the phone call. His daughter called to tell him what was happening on the news. He reported it to us and shortly thereafter reported the second attack. Not having a television in the office, we drove up to a nearby patient's home and watched the news with the patient and his sitter. May God continue to bless our nation and all those whose lives were changed that day. Where were you that day?

A day at the farm

Today we went out to a nearby farm for their annual Farm Fest. This was the first time we had ever attended, but had always wanted to visit with them. I guess you would call their farm a "fiber" farm, as they raise animals for wool production. Of course, they also sell their meat products, as they were selling lamb cuts today. I ate my first ever lamb burger, which was very very good. We also had ice cream from a local dairy and a wonderful slice of homemade coconut cake. This view is only a portion of their home and I wish I had taken a picture of the whole house. There were so many people around that it would have been difficult to photograph the house without them in the picture. It was very hot today, but a lovely day on the farm.

A day at the farm

This lady was one of the vendors and she was deomonstrating her spinning skill. If you look closely, you can see the beautiful angora rabbits in the cage beside her. These are animals she raises to shear for her products.

A day at the farm

The farm was a very clean farm and it was easy to see that these people take great care of their animals. The sheep were beautiful!

Sweet Pea

I borrowed this picture from a "pumpkin lady's" website, but just love the little dachshund she carved. Our newest family addition is a little dachshund named Sweet Pea and she is such a baby girl! She sleeps with me every night and cries if she is not in my lap most of the day. Yes, it gets annoying, but she is our precious baby.

We also have a shih tzu puppy named "Butterbean." He isn't as loving as his little sister is right now, but he is coming around. Last night he jumped in the bed with us to sleep for the first time ever. So there we were.... me, my husband, and two dogs in a queen size bed. We both agreed this morning that we need to upgrade to a king size bed soon.

Now, my mom thinks I'm crazy to have gone dog crazy all of a sudden. I have always been a lot like her in that I did not want any animals in the house. My 20 year old daughter has always loved dogs and has wanted one inside the house forever. We had tried with a couple of dogs through the years, but it never worked out. I can't believe my daughter has talked me into having TWO dogs now.

**Either I'm getting soft in my old age or I am absolutely losing my mind, for I do love my new dog babies!**

Fall Colors

I love the colors of Fall. In fact, my livingroom is done primarily in Fall colors. It's still hot outside, but I'm looking forward to cooler weather and decorating with warm colors. The little wreath and stars hang by my back door. (I had to shrink the photo because it shows where I need to wipe prints off the outlet cover) The crow ensemble is a blogger prize I won recently from My Yellow Farmhouse. (http://yellowfarmhouse.typepad.com/yellow_farmhouse/)

If you haven't already, you should check out her blog. She always has wonderful things going on in her world. The fabrics are from a quilt (a store bought one) that hangs over my loveseat. I just love each fabric in the quilt...so vintage looking! Come on Fall!

Is that really a bike?

This is my grown son and his new toy! He has been talking a lot lately about wanting a bicycle. Well, a girl at work sold him this one. Have you ever seen such a thing? If you look them up online, they are very expensive, and he got it for next to nothing from her. We have had a lot of laughs watching him and his sister ride it!

Summer Splash

How about a nice summer splash today? It is so hot and it would feel so good to let nature cool us off! This little picture is actually a P. Buckley Moss painting that I saved from her website. I love her work and hope to visit her museum one day. This picture reminds me of when we used to take the kids to the river when they were about that age. We have some good memories from their grandparents' place on the water. They sold their place after a big hurricane came through and caused a lot of damage there. We certainly understood them not wanting to deal with the big mess, but boy, do we miss having a nice place to cool off!

"B" is for Blueberry

I have to admit that I'm not much of a baker, but I wanted to share my favorite blueberry muffin recipe with you. Do you see that box of Krusteaz blueberry muffin mix? All you do is add a cup of water and it makes a batch of yummy FAT FREE muffins! I cook mine in a jumbo muffin tin, which makes six large muffins. (each jumbo muffin equals 4 points for those of you familiar with Weight Watchers) You can find this mix at Food Lion and Wal Mart. My whole family likes them and the house smells so good while they are baking!

Gingerbread Quilt

Here's another of my "favorite things" made for me by my mother in law several years ago. She had never even made a quilt before and made these cute little wall hangings for Christmas gifts that year. She is very talented and can do anything she tries.... cooking, sewing, flower arranging, decorating, etc. I've always thought this quilt belonged somewhere in my kitchen, but really don't have a good spot for it in my current home. I keep it on the back of a chair for now. Does it make you think "Christmas"? You know it's just around the corner!

Free Stuff!

Look at all this stuff I got for practically free! My friend, Debbie J., at Homemaking Dreams (http://homemakingdreams.blogspot.com/) is educating me in how to use CVS pharmacy sales to my advantage. By buying these products, which my family will use, I was awarded $26 in "extra bucks" to use at the store by September 10th. If I will purchase "extra bucks" items with my "free money", then I will receive more "free money" to use again. It is really fun! Thanks Debbie J. for explaining this to me! I spent $26.83 yesterday and will get $26 in free merchandise .... so basically, I got all these goodies for FREE!