Quite Saturday Night

 Kara and I whipped up these blueberry muffins today using Cindy's recipe for Blueberry Crunch Muffins. I have NEVER been able to make a muffin that is eatable from scratch!! Boxed mixes are all I could do for some reason, That is until today!! Cindy the muffins turned out perfect. Thank you so much for the recipe!!! Check out my sorry looking muffin pan. I have not one, but three of these seen better days muffin tins. Ha! Did you notice the festive pot holder? Yep it's Christmas in June at our place.

 I have been working a little each day to catch up on stocking the pantry and freezers with snacks. I found this recipe on FB not long ago for Pecan Coconut Pralines. Next time around I am going to put less coconut and more pecans. Also seemed to be more of a fall/winter snack, but what the heck we will eat them anyway.

 More Lemon Krinkle cookies along with a double batch of chocolate chip cookies are tucked in the freezer as well. See why I have been reduced to using holiday pot holders, there has been a whole lot of baking going on each night once the temperatures cool off.

Check out this backing I found today on the 70% off sale table at the big box store. Perfect for the Boo Boo quilt I want to finish up.

Hubby and I have an evening to ourselves that we have decided to enjoy putting our feet up and relaxing with one of the many new DVDs he received for Fathers day. It's not like there isn't plenty for both of us to do around here, it's just time to have some us time. Sure hope the power will stay on during the EVERY darn night storms we are having.

Last nights storm was a whopper, dumping 4 3/4 inches of rain in 3 hours. The thunder and lightning was intense enough to even have hubby a bit on edge. Lots and lots of flooding around our area and homes hit by lightning. Needless to say our garden (weeds) took a beating. We lost half of our corn and who knows what else. Until things dry out we can't even get in to do more weeding. This year has been a BUST for gardening. Thank goodness we don't depend on the garden to put food on the table but it sure as heck saves us a whole lot of money :(

I hate to even complain about all the storms we are getting when I hear of the dangerous heat the west is dealing with. Holy Hannah how in the world can you do any work with temperatures in the 115 range? The project hubby was on in AZ has set new work hours of 4:00AM -12:00noon but still the folks are battling the heat at those crazy hours.

Off to the free to us movie, some popcorn, and maybe a muffin or two

Time is Flying By

 My list of things "To Do" seems to keep growing each day :(. No matter how fast or hard I work there is always more being added. One of the task's was to get the freezers back in order. It's hard to know what we are running low on if everything is not in it's place. Hubby and the big kids seem to make a mess of things each time they open one of the doors. I can now see we could use some chicken next time I find a good sale. Everything else is pretty well stocked.

 My pile of blocks for the Irish Chain quilt is growing a little each day, up to 60 blocks, only 29 to go.

 Sew much multi tasking going on. Tea parties, pirates, and sewing. Oh ya, supper in the crock pot

 The pile of mistake blocks from the Irish Chain quilt was making me a little nuts just setting around. Figured I could use them up on a baby quilt and be done with it, however I needed more fabric to complete that booboo. I can never go in a fabric store without an unplanned idea popping in my head. While at the beach last week the big and little kiddo's were hitting me up for banaides, aspirin, Tums, Neosporin, you get the idea. When I saw this nurse fabric I got thinking I could make each of them a cute traveling tote for a first aid kit of their own. Like I needed another project!! Maybe this can be a Christmas gift for each of them. I have lots of time to watch the sales or hit the sample size supplies between now and then.

I stayed up WAY to late last night working on what I thought would be a baby girl quilt with the booboo blocks. The baby girl quilt I had in my head turned into a 60 x 60 quilt top. I suck at math!!! At least all the mistake blocks are cleaned off the sewing table. The plan was to get this bad boy quilt pinned tonight so I can begin the quilting and call it good. Now that it has turned out so large I will have to buy backing fabric. Grr, more spending.

Super short post as I am waiting on hubby to finish his shower so we can pick up Kara for the day. This week has flown by. Our garden is still in a sorry shape I can only weed in the early mornings before it heats up to a humid 100 degrees with the heat index. Our plan was to work in the evenings once the sun started to go down and things cooled off but everyday this week we have had BIG storms that keep us inside. Needless to say the weeds are loving this weather. Sure hope that by next week we can get the garden back in working order.

Were off, breakfast with the Tasmanian devil, on to the park, quick stop at the grocery store, then who knows what the little gal will be up too.

Playing Catch Up

 One of the MANY things I am trying to catch up on is restocking our snacks. The beach trip wiped us out. Yesterday was chocolate covered nuts. Today Lemon Krinkle cookies will go in the oven.

 During breaks in the housewife activities I am working on the reproduction Irish Chain quilt from my new quilting book. LOVE using the strip set method of making the nine patch blocks. Check out this great video from Jenny. I made a bunch of strip sets yesterday during one break.

 After unpacking and catching up on the laundry it was cut out time

 The blocks before sewing.

 And afterwards. One important thing to do when starting a new quilt pattern is to READ all of the directions before beginning. Most if not all patterns tell you to do that. Skimming the pattern is NOT a good idea. I tend to skim more often than not. In this case that skimming produced the block on the left. There shouldn't be any blocks like I made on the left for this quilt :( GRRR. I am not going to consider this a mistake, just a creative opportunity to make and additional quilt. I am thinking maybe a baby girl quilt.

 Lots more block sets ready to go. 20 blocks completed only 63 to go

 Our Hydrangea bush is blooming like crazy.

Check out these nice size blooms. Perfect for an arrangement on the kitchen table and refreshing our dried arrangements around the house.

Yesterday was a whirlwind day of playing catch up. I knew I couldn't get it all done in a day, like a watermelon one bite at a time is the only way to go for me. I little play time thrown in helps keep me motivated!! Ha

DONE Yesterday

Unpacked from vacation

Kitchen pantry cleaned out

Inside fridge cleaned out

Car washed (paid to have this done)

Prescription meds picked up

Grocery store run

Laundry caught up

Dead headed deck flowers

Make chocolate covered peanuts

Hubby's lunch for the week, Tuna and Chicken salad

Supper - baked pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread and butter pickles, and cornbread

A very small session of hexie making before bed.

Today will be just as busy but I HAVE to be off my feet at times. Perfect opportunity to work on my heirloom quilt don't you think? I refuse to feel overwhelmed by everything that got behind while on vacation. I know in time we will catch it all up but Man, Oh Man it sure is a whole lot of work!!!

Back to Reality

 Kara perfecting her sand castle skills

 She learned going past your knee's in the ocean will get you in trouble

 And if she bugs DD#2 long enough she will get her way every time

For the past 9 days we have awoken to one or more of these little buggers in our bed.  Sorta nice to wake up on our own this morning.

 

Vacation is over. As much as we love spending time with our big and little kidletts it sure was nice to arrive home yesterday to an empty house!!

 

There is oh so much to do on my list for the week but this morning I am taking time out for ME.

 

I like having a routine. Flying by the seat of my pants gets old after awhile. A week of vacation is my limit!!Ha

 

For the first time in many, many, years we over spent at the beach this year :( The biggest money pit was at the grocery buying snacks and drinks for the grands. Holy Moly drink boxes cost as much as beer. Fruit, Go Gurt, fruity snacks, and such was sky high. The boys and I went out to eat seafood one night, even getting in on the happy hour special still cost an arm and a leg. I meet up with some GF's one evening that was reasonably priced and worth every cent as DD#2  and her team mates were cooking something that I knew was NOT going to past my lips. The last night of vacation we took DD#3 and Kara out as I just didn't have the energy to do anything else. Our vacation/Christmas fund is looking pretty sorry.

 

The other wasteful spending was on a new toy for each of the grands. Hubby and I hit Wally world one day for yet more toddler drink boxes. I got the bright idea that if they each had a little something new to play with that they would sit quietly playing in the evening. Dumb, dumb, dumb If anything the got louder. The big girls wanted to take the little girls for "Makeovers". OK, I know it's silly but once you walk in the shop it just sucks you in, $60.00 later and a hissy fit from Kara I was ready to go. Hubby and the little boys were in another store where they build their own cars (sorta like build a bear) Mommy paid for the car, hubby picked up the cost to have it fitted to be remote controlled. Ouch.

 

Time to get back to reality. The garden is of course a weedy mess, bills to be paid, Dr. appointments to attend, plan meals for the week, laundry, wash/clean car. AHHHH it's good to be home!!!!

 

 

No Rest Yet

 The mornings might be early but who wouldn't love to get up to toddlers kisses

 And end the day looking for treasures.

 The annual Crab eating night out with the boys, minus SIL #1 who couldn't join us this year

 Kara's GREAT arm paid off at the Pavilion. She won 3 stuffed animals throwing darts. Not sure that's a good skill for a two year old

 The mommies took the little girls for a makeover. Why can't I think up money sucking business like this? $30.00 bucks each, Karsyn loved it, Kara NOT!!!

Papaw and Mason having some fun time.

 

Vacation is fun but at the same exhausting!! Playing on the beach making sand castles is cute to watch, having sand in the bed...well I'm not a fan. Late night, early mornings, walking around on sticky floors from Capri Suns, well you get the idea! Ha

 

We have had a bit of a revolving door this year, no different than many years. SIL#1 couldn't join us this time as he had to work, SIL#2  head back home on Wednesday to return to work. A Harley friend came in on Wednesday to hang out, DD#1 and her three rug rats left yesterday afternoon. We have 4 of DD#2's college teammates arriving today around noon to finish the week off with us.

 

The old days of greeting a newcomer/guest with a glass of tea and slice of pound cake is over. Now it goes more like this. Check that kid running by you, does she/he have dirty pants? I smell poop. When you unpack put your makeup, lotions, and potions up high, the little girls will clean you out. Toilets are just another form of water play, keep the lids down at all times. Be aware that the little kids will bug the snot out of you until every single person in the house is awake, I'm just saying.

 

Still it's fun.

 

 

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere

 Vacationing with the grands gives a whole new meaning to "It's Five O'clock Somewhere". More like they are up and running at five o'clock AM, UGHHH

 The little girls can't get enough of the ocean.

 Kara has miles and miles of open beach to run on

 We are lucky that they sorta stay in a pack

 Karsyn meet her first crab today. She didn't "rike it"

Mason man is finally warming up to the water and sand. He was not a fan at first

 

There has been no time at all to post or catch up on my blogging buddies since we left home on Sunday morning. :( I have already warned the gang that Nanny will be having some alone time tomorrow at some point. Maybe then I can relax with a cup of tea and do some visiting.

 

Ahh, vacation!!

Men

 Hubby ask me a few days ago why I had taken photo's of his garage. I explained that I was using those pictures to prove a point. We are VERY different. I like my work spaces neat, clean, and organized. If something is just taking up space or past it's prime it's gotta go. He did agree that his garage had gotten a bit out of hand but he had plans for all that stuff. And he did.

First he ordered a jeep cover so he could move the jeep to the driveway giving him more space in the garage (jeep is in the background of this photo). Sure enough the jeep cover showed up at the door this week (of course during Kara's nap time, grr) The jeep is now setting the the drive where it can rust a little faster, but at least it looks nice and neat. I guess I will find out what the cover cost when AmExp statement comes in as he can't remember what card he used for the purchase. sigh

He began working on his old tractor (1967 model) See photo below. It needed some repairs.....after lots of trips to the tractor store he told me the tractor was broke. Duhhhh, I figured that out after I saw what you were spending on the debit card. BTW hubby the debit card does not have unlimited funds available. He went on to explain in detail what all he would need to do to get "her" up and running. I have no idea what he said, I went back in the house to make biscuits.

 One of the other BIG items in the garage was a high performance engine hubby had rebuilt at a cost I am embarrassed to even share, nor do I want to remember back at the hundreds of dollars that went into it. Well don't you know he got on Craig's list and found him a deal. I didn't know hubby knew how to get on Craig's list. I was wrong.

The tractor in the back of this photo is MY tractor, it was working just fine until last night when"she" threw a rod on me :( To rebuild the engine will run $800.00, new engine, $1,200.00, new tractor over $4,000.00.

The tractor in the front of mine is hubby's new tractor that he traded his engine on Craig's list..... She's a 1968. This gal doesn't cut grass as that part is broken but she will work great to plow with (we live in a neighborhood not a farm, the disk will fit, we live on an acre not 100 acres, and she can also handle the snow blower, we live in NC people!!!

I went to bed last night knowing we now have 3 tractors in our garage, is that considered a "Fleet"? None of the fleet will cut the grass, what the heck!!!! I said nothing, just grabbed my laptop and played candy crush till my eyes were crossing.

This morning after running around with Kara hubby came in the back door to tell me he had solved the problem!! He had is new (1968) tractor "fixed up" so I can mow the lawn. He wanted me to come on out so he could show me how it worked. OK, I'm game we can't be spending money for repairs to my nice tractor.

Are you kidding me!!! he says to me, See if this part doesn't work then all you have to do is use this tool to do this, that, or the other, then if that other part doesn't work you can tweak it with this other tool. I didn't say a word.

I went back in the house. I have Egg salad, Macaroni salad, M&M cookies and, Chocolate chip cookies, to make. I have to pack food from the pantry/freezers, linens, beach equipment, 2 pack and plays, 2 sun shade tents, beach chairs, and it might be a good idea to pack clothes for us both for a week at the beach, we are leaving at 8:00AM tomorrow. BTW, Kara is here to help me out (NOT).

Check out the link below, Cute, funny, stuff. When I am feeling overwhelmed it's nice to know I am not the only wife with a SMART hubby

http://www.crosswalk.com/video/why-shouldnt-men-go-to-the-grocery-store.html

Yummy New Book and Biscuits

 This is one of the new books I picked up this week to take on vacation but couldn't hold myself back from beginning to read it.

 The authors have taken vintage quilts and converted the patterns to easy to use jelly rolls, so cool!. This one caught my eye. Gonna have to be on the lookout for a jelly roll like this!

 The inspiration for that quilt is this antique one. While I like the modern one a lot I am in LOVE with the original. How cute are those scallop edges? I have had a scallop edge ruler in my supplies just waiting for a chance at the cutting board.

 After digging around in the sewing room I found enough fabric (I hope) to make the inspiration quilt using the jelly roll technique. Sew excited!!! I got a few strip sets sewn yesterday during nap time, hope to get the first block done today. That is if the bugger will even take a nap.

You just have to try this recipe for biscuits!! We could have made a meal of these last night!!!

I am feeling like a kid in the back set of the car going on a long family trip this morning. "He's looking at me!!" Hubby seems to not know what to do with himself this morning, so here he sits JUST LOOKING AT ME. Gonna be a long nine days before he is back to work I am thinking.

Last night hubby did his at home sleep study. I slept on the couch so I wouldn't disturb the test. Why the heck did I do that we have 2 spare rooms both with nice queen size beds. Duhhh I have high hopes that the study will come back requiring hubby to have one of those "Jet Pack" things so we can both get a good nights sleep in the future. It's going to be a long day without that good nights sleep I was sooo in need of last night!!

I had Kara yesterday, end of story! Ha She is such a handful. When I picked her up she was bouncing off the walls. I figured I would nip it in the bud right off so we went to the park, temperature was 80 degrees at 9:00AM. DD#1 and her kiddo's showed up a little later (durn didn't have the camera) by the time we left at 11:00 AM the temperature had climbed to 95 degrees. Talk about HOT, HOT, HOT. We had some monster storms roll in right at dinner time that thankfully has cooled things back down. Sure hope today is a better play outside day as yesterday was a rump kicker.

On to dinner. We tried out a new cabbage on the grill recipe last night that was OK but I need to work on it. Didn't seem to have enough flavor for our taste. I am always looking for new recipes we can put on the grill to keep the heat out of the kitchen in the summer. The other new recipe was 7-up biscuits!!!!! My, oh my. This is a must try biscuit, super easy and so darn good. We could have eaten the whole pan, to heck with the meat and veggies! I try not to use a lot of processed box foods but Bisquick is an exception, you can also always find good coupons for it! Ha This yellow box is so versatile, you can whip up so many things lickity split. Now on to the recipe then a shower ona to meet our big girls and the grands for breakfast. Ever try to eat with 3 toddles and a 6 year old in a restaurant first thing in the morning? And we wonder why we are both on blood pressure meds.

7-Up Biscuits

4 cup Bisquick

1 cup 7-Up

1 cup our cream

1 stick butter

Set oven at 425 degrees

Melt stick of butter in  9 x 13 pan

Mix Bisquick, sour cream, and 7-Up in a bowl. mix with spoon, not a mixer

Drop large spoonfuls of biscuit mix into the 9x13 pan.

Bake until golden brown.

Holy Hannah, better have one or two as soon as they come out of the oven just to make sure they are fit for the family to eat.

Ripping, Running, Sewing, and Quick cooking

 I have such a problem walking away from fabric, notions, patterns, anything sewing related. The other obsession is books. Put the two together, I'm sunk. I had to hit the fabric store yesterday for additional hexie sashing fabric. These two books jumped in my hot hands, whats a girl to do? I tried very hard not to start turning pages before our beach trip but couldn't hold back at bedtime last night. Instead of paying bills this morning, on my "Got To Do" list I began digging around in my stash for fabric to make a quilt I fell in LOVE with. I need someone to help me stay on track and stop starting more projects!!

 This quilt top has been setting around since before Memorial day waiting to be completed. I made up my mind the quilt HAD to be done before vacation, I was sick of seeing the pile of blocks in the laundry room. Does this completed project give me permission to move on to the next quilt? Ha

 Excuse the mess in the background it is now cleaned up!! What can you do with these three ingredients? Make a summer desert of course. Recipe at the end of this post.

 Not sure how we feel about the results of the FAST 2 ingredients desert. I wasn't expecting the bars to be quite as gooey as they turned out. It was good but the texture took some time to warm up to.

All the running, sewing, packing, yard work, going on yesterday left me very little time to spend on dinner last night. Hubby suggested we just go out to eat. Na....I spent enough at the fabric store. I can't say often enough how much I love our frozen "To Go" meals.

That brick floating in the sink above in Jambalaya from the freezer. I like to freeze our liquid leftovers in loaf pans. This make storage in the freezer so much easier once I vacuum pack them. Need dinner in a hurry? Just throw the brick in a sink of cold water to thaw, pour in a pan to warm up and your good to go.

Today was yet another morning of errands, I so hate doing errands! The bright spot was hitting the farmer down the road for a head of cabbage and catching up on the going's on around their farm. I found a new recipe on FB this morning for cabbage on the grill that I want to try for tonights dinner. I am going to have to tell my FB friends to stop posting recipes that sound so good!! I have too much to do this week to play in the kitchen. Ha

Off to pay bills, grrrrrr

Lemon Bars

1 Angel food cake mix

2 cans Lemon pie filling (I think they are 22 ounces @)

Mix the DRY cake mix with the pie filling (with a spoon)

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top

flip onto a cooling rack, dust with powder sugar.

I mixed with a mixer, next time I will do by hand as the recipe suggested

I baked ours for 45 minutes as the middle of the pan seemed too loose to me.

An Unexpect Adventure

 DD#1's Sunday dinner was a hit. She tried 3 new summer salad recipes that were all easy to make and good. The grands ate alfresco that is until hubby and I showed up! Ha

 Tyler is at that age where they seem to always be hungry. He inhales his food, the little girls are easily distracted, Mason man likes to take his time, he never leaves a bite.

 We love to watch the Mommy birds build their nests in the spring. Having some bird houses around where we can see them from the deck is a sure way to enjoy the process.

 Hard to see this one. It's from Rock City "Chattanooga, TN" if you ever have the opportunity to be in the area this is a wonderful city to visit.

 Back when I was buying trees for DD#1's yard the nursery had the greatest bird house. Nice and big made from pressure treated wood, sure to last for years and years. I started to buy one then but we were already going over budget so I held back. With Fathers day coming up and wanting to find something for hubby to do in his off time I thought this would make a great Fathers day gift. He and Tyler would enjoy making something like this, it's much better than the junky wood working kits they have been doing.

 However the shop had sold out of bird houses but they did have this out door shed that was the same design as the birdhouses.  This will be perfect for gloves, twine, knife, sunscreen, bug spray, who knows what else and even a few towels to use in the hot tub (summer mini pool for the grands).

Not my Photo of a typical NC chicken house

Talk about customer service. The nursery shop owner knew just what I wanted and thought the fella who did their woodworking might have extra birdhouses in his shop. She gave me directions to his place. What a COOL workshop it was!!!

Yesterday I was get the errands done so I could head home to do the wifey thing. Two errands turned into dozens of stops, grr but the thing that took the longest and was well worth getting soaking wet in yet another day of tropical rains.

Talk about repurposing at it's best!! The couple that owns the land inherited from his grandparents. Way back when, they raised chickens to supplement their income. Fast forward 50 years or more, the fella had converted one of the chicken houses into a HUGE woodworking shop. OMG I wanted it all!!! There was nothing the man didn't make/have in his shop for outdoor use. Of course being from the South once you discuss "who your people are" we got down to talking about his cottage business out back.

His former company like many these days were downsizing due to the economy. Younger people were being laid off, some of the older people were being kept on but for who knows how long. At 62 he was afraid of a layoff down the road and maybe the package wouldn't be so good. His wife had been a stay at home Mom all her life. Like me soon after the kiddo's were out of the house the grands came along, the house once again filled up fast Mon-Fri while grandma helped the mommy's out. Needless to say his wife is plenty busy!!

He had always tinkered around making wood furniture, garden stuff for family, gifts, donations for the church bazaar. Figured maybe he could stay out of his wife's hair and make some pocket change. Well he is doing MUCH more than that now days!!

A small business like this would be great for hubby at retirement. He could do what he loves other than spending money on guy stuff and bring in some chrome money to boot. He does so love his chrome for the bike.

Have you thought about starting a cottage business after retirement or would you rather just kick back and enjoy the free time? I think hubby and I would both like to do something, not just for the income but to stay busy. Until the grands are all school age I don't have much free time but someday...maybe