It's Here...

 

It's finally, officially, here!  That cozy time of the year where I look forward to all of the changes this season brings...cozy retreats to the couch, lots of reading, down comforters, soups and stews, sweaters, warm slippers, boots, spicy candles, jazzy music and family gatherings...this is my time of year!  

And, I loved this, fall bucket list!  My favorite is - go outside and enjoy the crisp air - it's so doable!

Enjoy this first day of Autumn, where ever you are!   I pray that you are safe, healthy and happy.  XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb

 

My Daybook . . .

Hello!  Welcome to my Daybook!  It's been a few weeks since I posted, and it's time to write and read.  I pray that I will find you well, happy and enjoying the beautiful Autumn weather.  

What I'm listening to . . . Eva Cassidy.  Because I love jazz and Autumn . . .

Outside my window . . . On Wednesday we decided to get out of the house, this is where we ended up.  I didn't take many pictures, but I did take pictures of these weird clouds.  I love clouds.  

Of course my sunflowers.  They have really been so pretty this year! 

 The skies have been very smoky, but today, you can actually see blue skies.   But when this photo was taken a few weeks ago, the air quality was so bad that you couldn't see the big mountains in this photo.  In fact,  there have been a few days that I didn't even go outside.  Hopefully with wet weather and snow, it will clear up.  Yes, I did say snow, there is actually snow in the forecast.  Not for my area, but where the fires are, and it's not too far from us!

The learning room . . .Yesterday I had a very awkward experience.  I had been in the basement doing laundry, and when I came upstairs, I went to shut the front door and I noticed two pizzas on the front step.  I have been feeling a little under the weather lately and a friend of mine told me she wanted to bring dinner to us.  I told her she was a sweetheart, but we didn't really need it and left it at that.  Anyway, I brought the pizza in an was getting ready to call my friend when someone started banging on my front door.   When I went to the door there was a very anxious woman wondering where the pizza was.  It was Door Dash, and she had delivered the pizza to the wrong house.  She had my neighbor on the phone and was apologizing that I had taken the pizza into my home.  The neighbor told her that she would just gift us the pizza...which I didn't want...but she didn't want it after I had opened it...I get it.  The Door Dash lady kept her on the phone and told me that I should do something really nice for the neighbor because the gourmet pizza place where she had ordered the pizza through was really expensive and that she had given her a very nice tip.  By this time I was really frustrated and quite frankly just didn't think through what the lady was saying.  She went on and on about how I should do something really nice for my neighbor, and the whole time the neighbor was on the phone, probably as befuddled as I was.  As she was leaving she told me that I needed to put numbers on my house so that she could have found the right house (there are numbers on a post...by the road) because she got confused and didn't know which house it was.  My husband took 50.00 to the neighbor and apologized for any inconvenience.  The neighbor was nice and didn't want it, but Bob gave it to her anyway.

The more I think about it, the madder I get.  I should have given the cold pizza to the lady (which was cold by the time I found it), and told her it wasn't my problem, and that she had was the one who needed to make it right with the neighbor, not me.  I am thinking about calling Door Dash tomorrow when I have settled down.  I guess hind sight is 20-20.  What would you do?  

I'm thankful for . . .  Beautiful friends, who are so kind and thoughtful.  I love mums and this time of year, they look so pretty!  I just love them, and I love her!

From my kitchen . . . I haven't felt much like cooking the last few weeks, but I did make two wonderful loaves of, chocolate zucchini bread.  It's a recipe from a cookbook I got for Christmas a few years ago, and it's delicious.

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD

I'm creating . . . I'm still working on my crochet pumpkins.  I just need to glue in a stem, and put a few little embellishments on them.  Of course I made too many, but that's just how I roll!  They'll make fun gifts!  I also have some cute white and light green pumpkins that didn't make it in the photo.

Sunsets . . . I love my Idaho sunsets!

Just sayin' . . . 

Have a wonderful week-end dear friends and be safe. XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb

Hello September!

 

I've been ready for September since...May!  For most of us it's been a very long, hot, windy, smoky summer and I'm ready for it to end.   For the last 5 years or so the skies have only been free of smoke from about May until July.  After that, it's  hard to be outdoors because of the air quality, and to tell you the truth, I'd rather have cold and snow than smoke.  I feel so sorry for those states that are burning up, and pray for relief for them I can't even imagine what they are experiencing.  I also pray for all those in the Southern states who are struggling from the aftermath of hurricane Ida. It seems like there is just tragedy everywhere you look these days. 

That said, I'm ready for cooler temperatures, clear skies, tomatoes, apples, pumpkins, soups, homemade bread and basically all things pumpkin spice.  Yes, I love Autumn!  

Last Saturday my granddaughter brought me a beautiful vase of flowers!  She has taken a floral arrangement class for the last two years in high school and she loves it.   She's really good at putting different colors together and has made some really beautiful arrangements.  These flowers were just some she brought home that were left over from the week, but they are still just as beautiful today as if they were freshly plucked from the garden!  I love surprises like that!

And speaking of flowers, when I put my garden in this year,  I threw in a few sunflower seeds. It was late, so I wasn't really expecting much, but yesterday...one of them bloomed!  It was colorful surprise and of course, covered with honey bees.

Do you have plans for, Labor Day?  We are planning on a quiet week-end, and will stay away from crowds.  I hope that whatever you are doing this week-end, you have fun and stay safe. XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb

A Snapshot of My Week...

 

I can feel summer slipping away, and even though it's still warm outside, I can feel autumn in the air.  My flower pots survived the extreme heat and they are so pretty, another tell-tale sign that summer is winding down.  My garden is also thriving and I'm looking forward to canning chili sauce, and whole tomatoes this year.  We didn't plant much this year - tomatoes, onions, peppers, a  few beets and a few carrots.  We do plan on putting in more beds next year so that we can plant and preserve more vegetables.

Last Sunday the pump in our septic tank went out!  It went out just over a year ago and believe me we were not happy.  My husband is the original, "MacGyver" and refused to call someone to replace it.  We spent all day Sunday tracking down a new pump, pulling the old one (not fun), putting the new one on and then sanitizing everything we touched, including ourselves.  Although we were very careful, wore gloves and didn't touch anything that we didn't have to, it was still yucky.  😖 I told Bob that next time we're calling a plumber.  

Last night we went to a friends house and had pie and ice cream.  There are about 6 of us who aren't getting around too good, because of injuries, knee replacements or surgeries.  We called it, "Crip" Pie Night.  As always, when we get together, we have loads of fun, we even had door prizes!  I won an old crutch and a roll of duct tape to fix it up!  Hopefully, we won't have another, "Crip" Pie Night for a long time, but trust me, we'll find another reason to get together for pie.  An update on my feet - they are doing great!  I still have a hard time in the morning and in the evening after I have been on them all day, but they are getting better and better each day.  

My plans for the rest of the week- 

Friday - Finish up the laundry, do some cleaning, maybe make pizza for dinner.  

Saturday - I painted a bookshelf and put it in the basement to put my husband's collection of Louie L'Amour books on.  I think he is only missing one book to complete the entire collection.   I have so many books to go through, and I need to take some to the thrift store, but the book shelf is big enough for most of my downstairs books.  I hate to get rid of books!

Sunday - We will be attending church, renewing our Spirit is always a good thing!  

Have a great week-end and be safe! XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb

A peek into my week . . .

Outside my window . . . Today is dark, rainy, cold and smokey.  Of course I'm not complaining about the rain because we needed it so badly.  On a good note, we got a letter from the canal company telling us that we now have enough water to finish out the rest of this growing season and enough to get us through next Spring as well...really good news, but we could still use more!  It is about 48 degrees right now, but by the end of the week the temperatures are suppose to be in the 80's again!

I'm thinking . . . My heart has been really heavy the last couple of days.  A wonderful friend of mine passed away on Monday from a brain tumor.  

38 years ago, we lived next door to Carol and her family.  She was a sweet friend and confidant, a smart intelligent, funny lady who could make everything alright with just a smile or a hug.  She was multi talented, a little eccentric - in the best way of course, she loved children and was an amazing storyteller.  She told stories at many different venues and could just draw you into the story and make it real and magical.  We had so many fun adventures, and a few sad times, but we always came out laughing.  Carol was a second mother to my youngest daughter, I never, ever worried about her when she was with Carol and her family.  She was loved by all who knew her and will be terribly missed.  Carol used to remind me that this earth was not her home...her struggle is over and she is home 💓

I am thankful for . . .I'm so thankful for family and friends who have taken such good care of me while my feet heal.  I probably should ban myself from the stairs, but you know what they say - when you get bucked off, get back on!  There is still laundry to do and other things that need to be done in my basement, so onward and upward!  My husband doesn't like the idea of me going up and down the stairs and constantly reminds me that he can do the laundry and take care of anything that needs done (he's sweet that way),  but sometimes a girl likes to do her own laundry!  My feet are healing slowly, and one day, I might even be able to put my shoes on!  Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, I have felt every one of them.

I am creating . . . I'm still working on my crochet pumpkins, they're almost done, just some finishing touches and they can be used for Fall decorations.  Can you believe it's almost time for, pumpkin spice, sweaters and all things cozy?!  I can hardly wait!

A random photo . . .  My oldest granddaughter doing what she loves!

 In the kitchen . . . Not really a lot going on in the kitchen lately, although my husband helped me shred three large cabbages so we could make sauerkraut.  We love sauerkraut at our house, it's a healthy and delicious way to get your probiotics, plus, homemade sauerkraut tastes amazing!   In this batch I used two large green cabbages and one purple cabbage, it will be super colorful and delicious!  I keep it in a glass dish because as it ferments, it overflows a bit.

My daughter and her husband went to Utah last week and brought me back a half bushel of beautiful peaches.  They are so sweet and such a treat this time of year.  There was a time that I used to buy peaches by the bushel-full and take days canning them for winter.  I'm not sure I'm up to canning right now, but we will enjoy fresh peaches until they're gone.  I think I'll make a peach cobbler later today  and then put a few bags in the freezer so I can make peach ice cream when I need a taste of summer ;0)

 A special moment in my day  . . . 46 years ago I was in the hospital giving birth to my amazing daughter...Happy birthday, Amber!!  This beautiful girl is an amazing wife, mother, sister and daughter and friend, and we are blessed beyond measure to have her in our life!

 A quote for today . . .

 

Have a wonderful week-end...be safe! XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb

Camping...Averi's Birthday

 

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This was a fun camping trip, the first trip of the year for us.  It's been a busy summer and it  felt good to get back to nature and let the cares of the world melt away for a week.  We went with Jessica., my daughter, and her family.  We brought, Clara, one of our granddaughters, and, Taylor and Brody, two more of my grands, came up for one day to go hiking.  They hiked over three miles, which might not seem like a big hike, but it was right up the face of the steep hills.   In fact they were almost nine thousand feet up...it was a long hike for some of the little's, and I was so proud of them for their "sticktoitivness".

Of course the fishing was  always the highlight of the day.  They didn't catch big fish, but the ones they did catch were delicious...finger food size!  We always had this little lake to ourselves, it was beautiful and very peaceful.  We saw a lot of wildlife, unfortunately, most of my photos were a little fuzzy because it was dark and the animals were a long way off, but we did get a cute shot of a little chipmunk that kept popping out from under a tree for us to watch him play.  We also saw lots of deer, a moose, some of them heard wolves and we even saw a bear.  The bear kind of scared the kids, but it was a long way off, and we never let the kids get too far from our sight. 

It rained while we were there, which gave us a perfect opportunity to play games.  We especially loved, Cover Your Assets, a fun card game that even the little kids can play, and believe me...they loved it!!  One of the cloudy, rainy, cold days, they played for almost 6 hours!

The sunsets were beautiful!  We came home to cloudy skies, but it's always good to be home.

Our little, Miss Averi had a birthday, she turned 19!  It's hard for me to believe that she is that old.  When she was a baby she wasn't even suppose to live to be a year old.  You can read about her story here  She is truly our special angel.  Of course Averi got loads of fun gifts, hand soap and anything that makes noise and t-shirts with numbers and the days of the week are her favorite gifts...but she is our most amazing gift!

We had only been home a few days when, yours truly,  missed the bottom step going down the stairs.  I now have lots of time to sit on the couch and watch movies and keep my feet up.  I sprained both ankles, and hyper-extended both of my big toes!!  So, I will be forced to slow down...I guess I need to learn patience!  I am so thankful for daughters, and good friends.  My floors and bathrooms are clean, and my fridge is full of delicious food...and I now understand why people can't walk without big toes! 

Be safe...XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb

 

Thrifting . . . Do You Remember . . .

It's been a long time since I went to a thrift store, so on Friday, we stopped at our favorite, called...Rediscovered Treasures.  

It has thrifty things, antiques, repainted and fixed up treasures that are so beautiful.  But, one of the things I love about this store is the vinyl...I love records and they have a super good choice!  My husband said, "do you even listen to your records?" I said, "Yes, I do and I love them!".  There's nothing quite like the sound of a vinyl record.  One of the records I found this time was, The Best of the Statler Brothers, do you remember them, or did you listen to country music?  

One of the songs on the album is, Do You Remember These.  You can find it  here  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvbtqrg8tdU.  Do you remember any of these things?  Now, this is really going to date me, but many years ago, after I was married in 1974, we had an 8 track tape player in our truck, and this was one of my favorite tapes!!  It sure makes me feel old, but at the same time, I feel so lucky to have lived in that age!  

 DO YOU REMEMBER THESE

The Statler Brothers

 

Saturday morning serials
Chapters one through fifteen
Fly paper, penny loafers, and lucky strike green
Flat tops, sock hops, Studebaker, "Pepsi, please"

 

Ah, do you remember these?

 

Cigar bands on your hands
Your daddy's socks rolled down
Sticks, no plugs and aviator caps, with flaps that button down   

Movie stars on Dixie cup tops and knickers to your knees

 

Ah, do you remember these?

 

The hit parade, grape truaide, the Sadie Hawkins dance
Peddle pushers, duck tail hair, and peggin' your pants
Howdy doody
Tootie fruitie
The seam up the back of her hose

 

Ah, do you remember those?

James dean, he was "keen", Sunday movies were taboo
The senior prom, Judy's mom, rock 'n roll was new
Cracker jack prize
Stars in your eyes
"ask daddy for the keys"

 

Ah, do you remember these?

 

The boogie man, lemonade stand and taking your tonsils out
Indian burn and wait your turn and four foul balls
You're out!
Cigarette loads and secret codes and saving lucky stars

 

Can you remember back that far?

 

To boat neck shirts and fender skirts and crinoline petticoats
Mums the word and dirty bird and double root beer float
Moon hubcaps and loud heel taps and "he's a real gone cat"

 

Ah, do you remember that?

 

Dancing close, little moron jokes and "cooties" in her hair
Captain midnight, ovaltine, and the whip at the county fair
Charles atlas course, Roy Rogers horse, and "only the shadow
Knows"

 

Ah, do you remember those?

 

Gables charms, "froggin" your arm, loud mufflers, pitching woo
Going steady, veronica and betty, white bucks and blue suede shoes
Knock, knock jokes
Who's there?
Dewey
Dewey who?
Dewey
Remember these
Yes we do!

Oh do we?
Do we remember these!

Have fun reminiscing and have a great Sunday!

Be safe! XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb

My Week...Last Week!

Monday  . . .  It was so hot on Monday, but my husband was going to go fishing with some friends on Tuesday, which meant the truck needed to washed and cleaned since he was driving.  I didn't realize how many tools you need to have in your truck, I was shocked ;0)  It took us most of the afternoon to vacuum, clean and wash all the windows but we got it done.  I should of taken pictures! 

Tuesday . . .  Since Bob was fishing, my girls and I went to the spa and then out to lunch...I know!!  It was wonderful, talk about feeling pampered!  At this spa, no body touches you, it's all just different stations you go to.  For instance, one of my favorite is called, halo.  It's a room that you sit in, very comfortably in a zero gravity chair, while you breath in Himalayan salt, it was amazing.  The air has been so smokey lately, and that truly made me feel like I could breath again.  They also offer, red light therapy, foot massage and much much more.  The massage chairs were amazing, I don't think I've felt that good for a long time...I will definitely go again...and again.

 Wednesday . . . This was the day I was tackling the top of the hutch.  But before I did that the whole outside needed a good scrubbing.  The hutch is so old that the wood has started to oxidize, so washing it was a challenge.  I called a friend of mine, who is an expert at refinishing furniture and she suggested just cleaning it good with a good soap, like Murphy's Oil, let it dry really good and then just put a good wax on it.  So that's what I'm doing.  I had to order the wax, it should be here on Tuesday, then I can polish it and call it good for another year.   I got the top all cleaned off and it looks so much better!

I will be taking the border off of the wall and will be painting the wall.  The border is outdated, but I loved it when I put it up!  On the left hand side is an old apple peeler and corer, it was my grandmothers.  As a child, I remember her using it, I thought it was amazing.  On the right hand side is an old box that had an old spur, a couple of cow bells and a mesh-chain dutch oven cleaner in it, very interesting.  It was also my grandmothers.  I will put the old spur and the cowbells downstairs on the bookshelf.  Anyway, it looks better than it did.

Thursday . . .  Bob took the boys fishing again so I really didn't do much on Thursday.  I did a couple batches of laundry, cleaned the bathrooms, watered the garden and my flowers, but kind of just chilled.  It was another hot day, so I just tried to stay inside.  Later that night I went over to a friends house to take their family pictures.  She was having a, stay-cation with her children, and needed someone to push the button on the camera!  They are such a beautiful family and I was very happy to oblige!   On the way over to their house I took this photo of the sunset.  It was so pretty, and what a pretty backdrop for the photos!

Friday . . . Bob golfed on Friday, so I was kind of lazy.  I took care of some watering, puttered around in the house, made bread and put diner in the crock pot.  My daughter-in-law makes the best canned roast beef by roasting it first and then canning it.  They gave us 6 jars for Christmas and I really do treasure it.  It's so good put in the crock pot to re-heat with some, Lipton onion soup mix and a little water.  We made French dip sandwiches for dinner with fresh rolls, and a salad with greens from the garden, so good. 

I can't forget to add a photo of the, Buck Moon.  I researched how to get a good photo of the moon...and it worked!

Saturday . . . We needed to go to the grocery store, so we got that done early...another hot day.  We came home and I started the laundry, then started on some more cute crochet pumpkins that I'm making for myself and my daughters for, Fall decorating.  They are super easy and keep my hands busy when I'm watching TV.  

 These don't have the stems or leaves on them yet, but that will happen soon.  They're really fun to make and will be cute as a decoration.  I got the pattern here, watch the video if you have problems with the pattern, it's really helpful.

Sunday . . .  We got up and went to church then came home and had leftovers for dinner, very easy and it didn't heat up the house.  Although, I decided to make cookies after dinner, so, so much for not heating up the house...;-)  Bob would rather have a cake-like cookie so I made, Brown Sugar Cookies for him, they are very good!

I do add more flour, maybe a half cup or so, and I only bake them for 12 minutes,  not 15 minutes.    It's a soft batter, almost like cake and makes a light cookie.  I didn't frost mine this time, but they are delicious frosted.

Have a wonderful week and . . . Be Safe XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb