September 27, 2009

a Broom

Oh my I just had to share this.A friend of mine has a 2nd hand store.She had a broom standing in the middle of the store. It stood all by itself.People would just walk around it as if not seeing it.
Very funny.Have you ever seen a broom stand alone?
Nope me either.
Well I tried it and it works.Carol told me you can only do this when the planets are in a certain line.We will see I will try it in a month to see if it works.
Here it stands in the middle of my floor. And a view from the other side.








Toooooo funny.It takes little to make me smile.Hope it makes you smile.
have a great week j

September 24, 2009

Craft shows/Unfinished dolls


On our trip to Marshalltown we visited my sisters family.She and my niece do craft shows.They will be at Adventureland and in Nevada, Iowa for 2 shows.Watch for them they have the best booth.

I did not get any pictures of their beautiful work.I did get in on doing some crafts.Sister had some pieces and parts of unfinished projects.I put together a pumpkin head guy,and we did flower arrangements.That is right up my alley.

I have a feeling that the big arrangement will be staying at the nieces house.







The week has gone fast again and I seem not to get all done that I plan.There are still 2 buckets of apples on the to do list.I am really not in the mood to do apples.What I really want to do is make and paint a doll.Or just paint one of the ufo's.There always seems to be something else to do.Not what I *want* to do.I have a lot unfinished UFO's I had promised myself I would finish this year.A doll and doll quilt a month was my goal.I started the year really well with 3 dolls and 3 quilts.Then there was the Fl. trip and things just did not get back on track.So the dolls are still waiting.
I was inspired by all the creativity that was going on at the doll retreat and really thought i would come home and get right to it------well other things seem to get moved to the top of my list.I need to get my priorities straight."FUN" first then work.
have a good day
j

September 23, 2009

No canned pumpkin/Baked my own

I wanted to bake pumpkin bars.Went to 3 stores and found NO canned pumpkin.
The problem with making pumpkin anything is there is no canned pumpkin in the stores.
It is FALL for crying out loud!!! Time for pumpkin pie,pumpkin bread,pumpkin soup,pumpkin bars.

For some reason here in Iowa the stores can not get pumpkin.I'm not sure if it is all over the USA.Libby's notified the grocers of a crop failure.
I have baked my own pumpkin in the past and decided to try it again.

It is not hard and kind of fun.

I asked for pie pumpkins but the people selling pumpkins at the store have no clue.The heavier the pumpkin the thicker the meat/pulp.(I had to look up what the inside was called.Good for me.I learned something new today.)

I went to the local orchard and got a small pumpkin.$1.50.About the same price as a can of pumpkin.



Made 2 deep cuts into the skin.Put it on a baking sheet and baked till done about an hour.Be sure to pierce the skin deep or the pumpkin may blow up in you oven.



Peel the skin off while hot,slice in half,scoop out the seeds and it is ready to use in any recipe that calls for pumpkin.







I will pick up a couple more pumpkins and freeze the meat/pulp for winter use.Actually any winter squash will work.If you have extra just bake, freeze and you are set.A lot of you know this but maybe some have never cooked a pumpkin.For me it is much easier to cook-- then clean it,-- than to scoop then cook.

There is, supposed, to be more pumpkin in the stores soon--- but will be limited supply.
j

September 22, 2009

Art doll retreat


After our trip north we were home a day then on the road again to visit the gals and guys at the doll retreat.
It was great to see them all again and meet new doll artists.

I have known Sherry Goshon for a lot of years.I took classes from Sherry when she first started teaching.
Jeff and Sherry bought the school house in Dunbar Iowa. They have major plans for this building and when it is done it will be a hub for doll makers in the midwest.
They are building their home inside the gymnasium building that is behind the brick school house.
All the doll artists looked to be having a great time and their dolls will each be a work of art. Pictures of Sherry teaching and the class sample doll.


On the way to the retreat we stopped at the famous Taylor's Maid Rite shop.It has been in business for 81 years.At this location since 1958. There is no loose hamburger shop that has the taste of a maid rite from Taylor's.You sit at a U shaped counter.Seats about 30 and it is always busy.A maid rite and a shake.Nothing better.
Well enough for now.That made me hungry.Time to fix supper.
j

September 21, 2009

Clay county fair



We have had a very busy past week.Tuesday after Mr. T got off work we drove to Spencer Iowa. We went to the fair on Wed.
It is a really great fair and at the perfect time of the year! No hot weather like at the Iowa state fair in Aug.
The Clay county fair has as good displays and exhibits.

We met friends from Mn. there at the fair.The day was perfect.I will share the things I bought in another blog.


We camped at Leach park.A very nice park but be sure to call ahead for reservations early if you plan on going over the weekends of the fair.





The weather was perfect and the Iowa country side was beautiful.I tried to capture the beauty of the fields but my pictures do not come close to showing the true beautiful colors.The yellow of the bean fields almost hurt your eyes with their brightness.






On the way home Thursday we decided to stop an look at new Winnebago motor homes.The drive took us through Crystal Lake Iowa.

Mr.T worked for Kings construction back in the 1960's.He had poured a cement pad there by the lake and we stopped to see how the work withstood time.It was still there. He remembered the big catfish by the lake.





We walked down by the lake and I took a few pictures.As we walked back I spotted the biggest spider I have ever seen in the open.






Friday was a day at home to catch up on a few things before we took off again for a visit to the weekend doll retreat in Dunbar.

Tomatoes were ready to be made into juice.Nothing smells better than a pot of cooking tomatoes.







How can it be they do not make freezer boxes any more?I have looked with no luck.I found round plastic freezer containers and they have the glad plastic but not the good old sq. freezer boxes that stack so well in my freezer.It is Monday and I have more tomatoes to do and apples.
We are getting some much needed rain today so it is a perfect day to do some cooking.
I better get to it.
I will post about the doll retreat and a day of crafting tomorrow.For now I better get to the tomatoes and apples.
have a good week.
j

September 13, 2009

A busy weekend

So many things going on here this weekend it is hard to know what to tell first.
A couple of very sad things to note.Our friend Dave's brother Doug passed away from the most hateful disease. cancer.To say it is hard to lose a brother doesn't seem quite enough.Doug you will be missed so very much.

The other very troubling thing, a boy of 11 who, is the son of our daughters best friend found out he has the hateful disease.At times like this I have to wonder why bad things happen to really good people.

If you are so inclined pray for God's miracle for Seth.He will be going through some very hard times in the months to come.

We harvested tomatoes,green peppers and potatoes today.I have 14 jars of green beans in the canners as I write this.

Yesterday we attended an outdoor wedding.It was a absolutely beautiful day.It was in the late afternoon.It was not a formal affair but very nice.
Much happiness Joe and Maria.




Our daughter and Cameron came for a visit and it is always a joy to see them.He does not like to have his picture taken.I take one each time before they go home.I tell him it is so I can see him until he comes back for another visit.They grow up so fast.He is the youngest of the six grands and he is now 7.












And now for the last but not least weekend tale.Actually it started months ago.I finally had had enough.Do you all have Dish tv?
I am not a big tv watcher.(I am looking at blogs instead).

In fact the Duggers and the Roloffs are about the only thing I watch on a weekly basis.When I watch tv I want it to work and for months my tv has gotten an ATTENTION box off and on through the shows I am trying to watch.I have to tell you if it had been Mr. T's tv that was on the fritz it would have been repaired right away.

This picture is not the same box but gives you the idea.
On Friday I had it and called the dish network no. for help.Do you know our American tv tec support is in India?The first tec. I spoke to was Gem.Yup you got it like a diamond!She talked me though the process.I am not hard of hearing but it was almost impossible to understand anything she said.The back ground noise was awful.


Well that worked until I hung up.I called back and got MARIO!!
By this time I just want my tv fixed.I did not want to talk to a tec in another country.I wanted an American tec support person to fix an American made tv.
Wishes--------------------- Not going to happen.
You know what they say about wishes and horses.

The polititians need to do something about that but that is for another days topic!

Ok back to Mario.He was much easier to understand.He was very polite and asked if he could call me judy. "Sure Mario(did you ever think an Indian would have a name like Mario?) not a problem"He starts going through the problem with me and at one point he said"I am going to have you do something with the remote."I replied"how about I throw it out the door!!"
At that point the guy lost it and was laughing so hard he had to stop talking and excused himself off the phone.You really had to be there but it was the funnest tec support person I ever talked to.He was still laughing when he came back on the line and said to me"OOOHHHH Miss Judy You make a my day.!"

Well the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing with Dish network.I had 3 phone calls to confirm the time the repair person was to be here.1st call asked that I be home between 8 a.m. and noon.Then 2nd call different guy named James. Could they change the time the repair guy was coming from Cedar Rapids(2 1/2 hours).Could we change it just in case the repair guy wanted to put me at the end of the day but *maybe* it would be at 8 a.m.James did not have a clue.
3rd call was one of the prerecorded ones telling me he would be here at 8 and someone over the age of 18 should plan to be at home.

The repair guy got here at 2:30 p.m. and when I asked if he had a lot more stops before he started back to Ceder Rapids he replied
" No more stops but I am from Buckeye"(15 min. from here).
wires broken the remote did not work and he had to replace the receiver.It is a wonder I could watch anything at all.

Oh I forgot to mention I thought maybe it was the tv that was faulty so we went and bought a new flat screen.Yikes am I in trouble with Mr. T.
He will get over it.*THEN* I will ask him to hook my computer up to the big screen.

Our old tv sat in the living room for a week.Mr. T. would not move it until I found a place for it.It went home with DD.I'm so glad it is out of the living room.
So much for the last few days.
Hope you all have a good week.
j

September 11, 2009

decorating for fall





Mr. T. brought up the 3 totes from the basement shelves.I had forgotten how *much* fall stuff I have.
I have collected pumpkins for a lot of years and display inside and out.Today I did some of the inside.
Emma is a doll I made a few years ago.She has a dress for each season.Here she is in her witch outfit.




The corn husk dolls have been in my collection of fall things since our oldest son was in grade school.He is 44.
He made the doll in the front to the left of the haystack.


The shelves in the dining room hold a variety.I love the amber and had to display a few pieces of it with my pumpkin dishes,soup tureen, trays and tea pots.Sometimes I think I will do away with some of them but each year when I open the totes and see it all, It is like seeing old friends again.




The hoosier cupboard is a collection of this and that.

Finally the buffet.The pumpkins in the frame I did wool felt on screen.So much for decorating today.Stay tuned for outside decorations.j

September 8, 2009

painting pumpkins



I love fall and pumpkins.Somewhere I saw a blog with pictures of a lot of metal containers painted for fall.
It gave me an idea what I could do with those popcorn tins I have had in the garage for a couple of years.One of those things that I kept thinking I should be able to do *something* with.
I gave 2 of them several coats of spray paint.Today i painted one of the cans with pumpkins.I had forgotten how much I enjoy painting.The pictures show the process,from a Christmas can to a fall can

September 5, 2009

fall green bean harvest






I love this time of year.My mom and grandmothers all canned and froze produce from the gardens.My 4 sisters, brother and I all learned and still do the same.
This past week it was green beans.There is nothing better in the winter than home canned green beans.Nothing from the store can compare to the flavor.I have hard water so there is a bit of lime build up on the outside of the jars after 45 years of use but that does not affect the goodness of the beans.
Our friend Jerry was kind enough to share his green bean crop with us this year.Next year we will try his set up in our own garden.Pole beans that you stand up to pick is the ONLY way to go.As you can see from the pictures.