Embroidered Vest for The Twins./Holiday Plans

Amy Grace-  13 yrs old

Ashlee Gail- 13 yrs old

The girls will be 13 in a few days.. So 
hard to believe our babies have grown
up so fast.
 I got my embroidery machine out [after
such a long time in hiding.  I embroidered
their initial on the vest.
Happy Birthday Girls..

Thanksgiving and  Christmas Clean up Plans
are still underway.. I got all the kitchen cabinets
washed - inside and out. [wow..I am proud this
is done!!].  Living room-- washed curtains [and
hung outside to dry]. Wiped the walls down,
wiped the couch/chairs with a damp cloth.
Now... I will be moving on to the bedrooms.

Holiday Plans
There is only 19 days until
Thanksgiving.. I hope to have all the
"extra" cleaning done before this holiday.
I have made my menu plans- I have bought
the turkey/ but need one more grocery store
shopping trip to pick up a  few items.
There is only 50 days until Christmas.. so many
to do  list on my planning sheet... Must get
to work..

Christmas shopping-- have you began your shopping?
 Sad to say---- I have not bought the first thing!!
Since the grandchildren have gotten older,  money
seems to be the gift of choice..  Not so fun/ but
want to make them happy.☺

Have a great day and wishing you the best, as
you make preparations for your holidays.

Decluttering/Cleaning ---Christmas is 2 months away

Clorox cleaner-- Perfect cleaner for my white cabinets.

 I looked at the calendar and realized...'OH MY", it
is getting really close to Christmas. [2 months-eeeh]
I like to do a semi- declutter and cleaning before
decorating for Christmas.. So.. I  have started..
I used the clorox cleaner  to clean kitchen cabinets
and counters. Works really well. I also , cleaned the
inside of the cabinets too. One room down.. and much
more to come..

Kitchen is all clean, and  lots of clutter throwed away or
donated..

Add caption

Dining area.. all clean and ready for Christmas decor,
in just a little while..

Or you ready for  the Christmas holidays? 

Someone ask me.. why clean 2 months before Christmas??
I do several "spring cleanings" during the year, To me, 
it is so much less work if I clean and declutter
 more often.  

Maintaining.. I try to maintain the work I do. My tips 
for this is:

1- make your bed every morning, before leaving the room.
2- De-clutter one room/drawer/or cabinet of any items you
don't use, each day  or every couple days. 
3- Use my clorox cleaner to  clean counter tops each
night after cleaning  up kitchen .
4- Sweep through the house each night..
5-Bathroom-- The last trip  to the bathroom at night...
 I always take my clorox wipes and  wipe  down the 
 sink/cabinet and tolit seat and top.[note- this makes
my  weekly bathroom deep cleaning much easier.. And
the bathroom always looks pretty clean.6-Laundry-- [it is much easier now that my kids 
are grown and gone].. But I still hate that job.smile So,
I attempt to stay on top of it, When a load gets dirty,
I  wash them.. dry and put away.
NOTE-- I found a tip on internet years ago.. It said to 
do the "one touch"job..  Whatever you touch , you finish!


Have a great day...

Simplicity 8330- Homecoming Court --Dress for Callie

Callie Noelle-
Callie was chosen to be in the Homecoming Court.
She had to have 3 dresses.. One formal gown [that
her mom bought]. Another dressy type dress for
photos for the newspaper, and one for the parade
ride. I made the above dress for her photo
in newspaper. 

Callie chose  Simplicity 8330. It is a high neck halter
dress/ that is high neck halter in back also. It is
lined with a soft cotton blend. The fabric is a soft
poplin with stretch.

Simplicity 8330-- I made view C

 The photo for the newspaper was Monday, the 
parade ride and the formal homecoming walk
will be Friday. I will post photos later of these.

I really enjoyed sewing this dress. It was an
easy/enjoyable sew.. It has been awhile since
I have sewed.. I have a dress for myself that
I had started , when I found out  Callie needed
this dress. So now........ I will get back to sewing
my dress. Happy sewing to all.

Fall Decorations..

Fall is in the air... Nice cool temps. Leaves are
falling..  so--- I pulled the fall stuff out of storage.
The ceramic pumpkin is from years ago.. and the
plate I got at Wal mart last year.

The Thanksgiving  figurines, were given to me by  my
son and family. years ago. The brocade placemats
were bought on clearance years ago.

Wal mart pumpkin..

Small  pumpkins are finding their way all around
the house.

Outside got a little touch of pumpkins
and home sweet home pillows.

This is the pumpkin patch sign I made last week,
I messed it up, and had to redo it.. Such fun
making your own signs.

Hope you are all having a nice fall ..

Making Signs & Photos Around the House

 Wood Welcome Basket
I found this at Dollar General Store for $6. Perfect
place for my vine and milk jug. Sitting in kitchen
window, getting the sunshine it needs.
NOTE...Click on photos , to see larger/clearer photos.

 I made this  Blessed sign out of some old
house siding.   Found the galvanized sheet [on
the sign and also the galvanized holder  at
Hobby Lobby..

Farmhouse sweet Farmhouse  copy [found free on
Pintrest]  Found the  wood sign at dollar General
Store for $5.

 Made the R sign.. Bought the board at Hobby Lobby.
 Painted the galvanized R and glued on. Made the
 Farmhouse Living Pillow on the bench.

Found this cute little table with a drawer for putting
stuff in, at  our local Dirt Cheap store.. Looks like
a retro tv , doesn't it?? lol Perfect match with my sage
green lamps.

Made the sign above.. Found the little tiny word
signs at Freds Dollar store.. And put them on the
wood sign I made.. Easy Peasy..

Welcome sign.. Made from  the old house siding. I also
made a pumpkin patch one , to take this ones place,
when I get the fall decorating done??

Flowers are still going strong..

The 3 trees in the front  are really missed.. Such lovely 
shade trees.. But , they were  too close to the house.
And Hubby hated the balls that fall off the sweet gum
trees.. he had to blow the yard nearly every day
during fall. So he won out, and we had them cut.
We have been working on getting grass back to growing
in the yard.. So , it has been a lot of work ..whew!!

Hope you have a good week.. And many blessings from
God our Father.

Callie... Kindergarten to Senior .. Where did the time go?

Callie.. 5 yrs old and headed off to kindergarten. I remember
the year so well.. She really did not want to start school ha.  I had baby set her, [while mom worked] for
those 5 years. I was so very loss , when  she went to school.
I didn't realize , how fast time would fly. And I would be posting
photo of a senior , this soon..
[Life is like a vapor- here today and gone tomorrow]

Callie - 16 yrs old. heading off  to school. She is now a senior.
 Wow.. that's hard to believe.  She is a very sweet girl. She
started school and made straight A's.. She  made it through
 school with not a single B. So very proud of her. She is 
graduating a year early.. She never really liked school, and
had rather start college early and  Quote from her..." Get it
over with  asap". lol
 She called me last night, to tell me , she had made home coming
court. She was excited, as she didn't know if she would even
be allowed to , since she was graduating early..

God has really blessed Kenny and I with 2 wonderful kids and 5
grandchildren. As, we watch them grow up, there is a sadness,
but also a very  proud time too .. Seeing them serve the Lord and
become adults. This is what God intended. And I am very thankful.

Bed Room Re-do & Wal mart finds

Bedroom/Sewing room Make over
When we moved into our little farmhouse,  I 
had this room painted blue with white trimming.
 I soon discovered that the blue was too 
much.. So, [with my husband letting me know
that we just paid men to paint this a year ago,ha] I 
went to Lowes and bought  a light gray for the
bottom and the same  Celery Root [cream white]
for  the top half. I am really pleased with, how 
open the room is now. So, I must tell hubby.. I won!!!
The red/white stripe throw at end of bed.. I found on
Walmart.com for 8.99.. Love it..
[Note... click on photos to enlarge]

My sewing nook.. So much lighter and brighter
with the light colors. Organizing  my sewing stuff
helped also. My fabrics are still kept in the big
book shelf  with bins, in the living room. Works great.
 [not like having a big sewing room, But, I am adjusting.☺]
I  painted the stool white.. It was a light brown wood.
It already had a gray/cream cushion cover.

NOPE....I didn't redo the kitchen [hubby would kill
me.lol] ☺Just wanted to show you the cute pillow
I found at walmart. It is an indoor/outdoor pillow. It
was $5.00.  

Close up of  pillow. It is flowers in a mason jar.
The jar is teal  and says, "Faith".  Love it.
This stool has moved all over the house.. It is not really
used.. [only when all the kids/grandkids are here,
and we need the extra chair]. But, I love
to hang pretty seasonal towels  or in this case,
a pretty pillow.

My computer area in hall.. My desk was so small, 
when I put the printer on it, it left no room for any
thing. So, I purchased another shelving unit at Lowes
for $13.00.  I  found these galvanized bins at Walmart.com
for $7.47. They are perfect.. they hold my copy paper, 
office supplies.etc.  The top holds my printer and gives
me more room on  my desk..

I have a new to me camera.. Mine died. It takes really
good photos.. Thank you to my sweet friend, Deedy..

Emily's Dorm Room.. Sewing & Embroidering

Emily's First Year of College
 I  embroidered her initial on this pillow that I made for her.
 I actually did 2 of everything.. [One for her room mate...
so their room would match.☺

Initials on  the desk chair cover  [Two of these also]
Emily found this idea on Pintrest, and ask me to
 make it for them.

Bed skirts for both girls. [these beds are about 4 ft off
the floor, [so they can  store things under the beds]. It
took lots of time to make these tie on bed skirts.whew..
what we do, for those sweet grandkids.

Papa made   the head boards [two of them too] from plywood
and 1 x 4 's.  I covered them with cotton batting and  teal
fabric..    Her mom , painted the  letters above her bed.

                                                                         

                               Best wishes to my  sweet granddaughter,Emily..                                Wishing you the very best this year..

Farm Sweet Farm-- Fruit n More

Click on photo to enlarge

We have been living at our  "old- Farm House"
for a little over a year now.. Many changes have
been made..  Still lots of work to do. I found this
Farm Sweet Farm container at Hobby Lobby. My
Pioneer Woman fruit jars, fit in it perfectly..[Don't
you love when that happens?] Found the  galvanized
tray at hobby lobby too. [love that store]. It says,
"Thankful, Grateful, and Truly Blessed."  And it
is so true.

Our fruit trees have been giving us lots of fruit.. Figs
and Pears are coming in..
So I decided to make  some  Fig/Strawberry Preserves.

Figs and Strawberries are cut up , ready to began.I am sharing my  recipe.. It is a Paula Deen recipe..So easy and Delicious. Note , you can make just figs,
just strawberry or combine them..

Fig/Stawberry Preserves

10 cups of  combination of figs and Strawberrieswashed, stems removed and cut in half
3 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup water
2-3 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine ingrediants,  Stir and let sit for 30 minutes, until
sugar dissolves. Then put on  medium heat and cook for
30 minutes. Place in hot jars/lids.

Delicious.....
All you need is  some hot buttered biscuits. yummy.

Sewing Tops for a friend's Girls --& Grocery Store update

I have a friend in  Washington. I have sewed for
her girls for years.. They are now 9 and 14.. Such
sweet girls. They are away at camp for 3 weeks.
Grace ask me to make them some easy to wear
tops for Camp. I made them 6 tops each.. It was
fun sewing..  The photo above only show 3
different tops [  I  lost the photos of the other ones..sorry]

Embroidered yellow, tie top.
Sewing.... I have several blouses/skirts that I have made. I made
lots of items [pillows, bedskirts, chair covers  for  Emily's
new dorm room]Lots of embroidering too. Fun/fun
I will be blogging them soon.. It is nice to be sewing again.

Grocery Store Update Walmart [in our area] has stopped their comp ads. So, I am buying very little groceries there. I am doing the next bestthing......... Going to several different stores , for their sales.
 We did  have a new grocery chain open last week, about
10 miles from me.. Reeds Grocery.. It is alot like Kroger.
I was really impressed with their stock/ workers were
super nice. Lots of great sales this week.. Hope it
continues and is not just a  "new store gimmic" and
go back to the  high prices.ha

Things I purchased this week:
Hamburger meat [packaged in smaller packs.yea]- $1.77 lb
Kraft mayo- $1.99
Tuna- 47 cents
Can veggies [green beans, corn, mixed veggies]- 36 cents
Crisco oil- $1.99
Center cut pork chops- $1.77 lb
Doritos chips $2.00
Strawberries- 97 cents [pint]
Fresh Pineapple- 99 cents [it was small]
Lettuce - 89 cents
 Potatoes- 10 lb bag- $1.50
Can tomatoes- 49 cents
They also have a bakery.. and it smells wonderful// I bought a
fresh, from the oven, loaf of french bread.. delicious!! 99cents

Hope you have a nice upcoming weekend.

Judy has been MIA.. Life Happens

 Hi Friends,

Just wanted to thank each one of you, for checking in on me.  I am sorry I have
not blogged in such a long time..

I have had a really busy summer...

1- spending time with my sweet  grandchildren... as  Emily will be  going
off to college on Tuesday.. This is bittersweet. We are so proud of her.. She graduated
Valedictorian  of her class, and will be going into  a BioMedical Engineering degree.
We will miss her terribly.
Callie will be  a senior this year, with a very busy schedule. So, we know , our time with
her is  limited..
2- I have had some medical issues.. And am still battling them...  Stomach issues..[Have
dealt with nausea and weight loss-- GI doctor thinks my stomach is not emptying ,as
it should?  Working on medicines to correct this ?] Also,  knee troubles.. [climbed Kenny's
new hunting stand, as he was so proud of it, and wanted me to see it.....MISTAKE.lol]

Sewing.... I have done some sewing this summer and intend to share it  soon..
New skirts for me.. tops for me... Tops for my friend's girls to wear to camp.... Dorm stuff
for Emily---chair covers, bed skirts... pillows , etc.

 My camera died..so I need to buy me a new one.. But soon and very soon.. I will begin
to share with you again..

thank you so much  for thinking about me.  Will be back soon.. hugs.

Flowers on  the front porch are doing well.
 Enjoying  the beautiful summer..

Sewing.... Emily's Military Ball Dress--Simplicity 1195

Emily & Andrew
Military Ball 2017

Emily & Andrew

Emily is graduating in just a few weeks..[Where did the time
go?] She needed a  dress for the military ball, that she
would be attending with her sweet boyfriend, Andrew.
He is such a nice fellow..
We went pattern/fabric shopping and had so much fun!!
She chose Simplicity 1195. We used the bodice from
the hi/low dress, and put the long skirt on it. She
chose the sparkle silver  trim to go around the waist. Such
a pretty accent . We also got lace to go in the shoulder
pieces.

She and Andrew had a wonderful time. So happy I
could make the dress for her.

She will be attending her senior prom next week.. I have
to alter her dress..[ummmmh.. I must get started.☺]

Hope you have a  blessed week..

Plans for Faye's Top Sew A Long- Colette & McCalls

#1- Colette Violet Blouse
NOTE: click on photo to enlarge
I am making this blouse in a pink gingham
check.. It is already cut out, and mostly
sewed together.. I  have to add collar and
make button holes. I will be covering my
buttons too. Love this top pattern, I have
made several of them.

McCalls 7360
 If time permits, I will make this one for Fayes Sew a long
too. [I have revival at church this coming week, so
not sure  if I will finish it? We will see?☺]
 I  will be making it out of a blue white design poplin/cotton
fabric. Very soft and pretty. I will do the  short sleeve version.
[the blue version on the pattern envelope]

Happy sewing to each of you.. 

Faye's Tops That Pop Sew-A-Long..2017

                 I am so excited to by joining Faye in her  top sew
            a long. You can make one top or as many as you
           like..  I hope to  be making a couple new summer
           tops. I will share my pattern and fabric soon.
            

           Check out  Faye's  blog... She sews some really cute
           things. Happy Sewing.

                      http://fayessewingadventure.blogspot.com/2017/04/announcement.html

Easter 2017

Happy Easter to  each of you and  your families.
May God bless .

Today [Saturday ] has been a really busy day.. My
kids /grandkids will be  here for lunch , after church
tomorrow.  I cleaned on Friday. Today has been
making preparations for  our Easter meal. Cooking/
chopping/ baking/ and lots of dish washing.ha

 We will attend Easter sunrise service at 6:30am.
Our  children's churches  will be here after their 
church services.


Menu:
Turkey /dressing [son's request]- 
Giblet gravy---Cranberry sauce
 Candied sweet potatoes 
 Potato salad----Bake beans
Green bean casserole--- Rolls
Ding dong cake---Pineapple/Coconut Cake

Happy Easter... Remember our  blessed Savior today.

Sewing... Emily's Mission.. Dresses for Little Girls-Part 2

               Emily's  Mission... Bring new Dresses to Every 
                 Little Girl in the Children's  Home.. Part 2

            Emily [my soon to be 18 yr old granddaughter] has
            a mission.. She  wanted every  little girl in the 
            Children's Home to have a new dress of their own.
            She ask me to help her..   She took dresses to them
            before Christmas[2016]. They were thrilled with the
            dresses. And very appreciative.

                                  S0----  When Spring time arrived , She 
           wanted to take them another dress. 💕 Emily is a special
           girl.. She has a heart for  people, who are in need. So very
           proud of her .

            I would like to say a special thank you to My and Emily's
            friend, Diane Osborne. She donated most of the fabric for
            these dresses..  We appreciate you . Hugs.

                 I would also like to say thank you to  my daughter in law
           Gina.  She helped sew these dresses, and made this possible.
           Emily and I appreciate you and love you.

Bed Room Changes & DIY wall project

Time to change my  bedspread.. Mine was 5-6 yrs old.
I had this same   paint color in my bedroom , at the
other house, so continued here with the same bedspread.
I decided , since the bedroom is so small/ I would go
with a light bedspread.. White won... I bought the white
tuffed bedspread, added black/white gingham check
curtains. I had this black/white check block quilt, and
added to the  foot of bed. Of course, you know me.. I had
to throw in a little red.
Note- click on photos to enlarge.

The  Bless This House sign, at top of window, was an
old wood sign,that was found in Kenny's old barn. Very
ugly and dirty..  I  brought it in, and removed the gold
metal "Bless this House part"  and painted it white. I
then spray painted the  wood with the hammered black
paint.. [Did I tell you, I love the hammered paint?]
 Now, on to my  Recycled/DIY project.

I bought  3 Valentine wood signs [shown above] after
Valentine's Day. I think they were 50 cents. I went to
Lowes and  got [2] 5 gallon paint sticks . [free, they
gave them to me, when I ask to buy them]. I had the
black wire already. I had the different color paints
already , from previous  projects.. I bought the
black stick on words at the dollar tree for $1

Turned the signs over  to the back side..[required no sanding,
they were smooth and no varnish on them..yea].. Yep.
the valentine stuff is on the back side, but no one is going
to see it but me.ha  I painted each board a different
color.. [white, red, green], I painted the paint stick black
[because , you can see little bits of it between the boards]
I also, took a little black paint and  wiped bits of black in spots
to give that aged look.

After the paint dried,  I glued the paint sticks 
on the back, to hold the  boards together. Kenny 
drilled holes in the top board, I put  black wire
through them to make my hanger.
 I then took my Sticker words, and put on each board.

Note.. sorry I did not get a photo of  the sign it self.
The photo didnt come out clear..[bad photographer, for sure]
CLICK on first photo of bedroom, and you can see it on the left.

Hope you all have a wonderful week. God bless.