Fall Farewell

Here are my excuses for a final fall post instead of Christmas as everyone has moved on to.

1.  We haven't had snow yet and the oak tree still has some leaves, so it still feels pretty much like fall.

2.  I get tired of everyone rushing Christmas.  I swear the decorations were in the stores the end of September.

3.  Since I was sick on Thanksgiving and Black Friday I am behind on my "normal" Christmas decorating. 

4.   I've also been struggling with slideshow, but finally got it to work!!  I LOVE fall--the colors, the weather, the activities, etc.  and while I also LOVE Christmas I am always sad to take the fall decorations down.  

So, here's one last fall project and slideshow.

I made this wall hanging based on a pattern, but I tweaked it some.  I used only fabric from my stash, so it was free!  Well, at least I didn't put any money out when I made it. I gave a sneak peek of it a while ago with a photo in a post.

I did complete it and it has been hanging on my wall. 

I meanered around the entire wall hanging except the applique in the middle.

 I first put it here:

But after buying a new cabinet for the music library I had to move it.  It looks good next to the window, but no photo!

And one last look at my fall decorating before I decorate for Christmas! 

Good-bye Fall!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our family last Sunday with a meal at our home.  All of our kids and grandkids were able to be here. My brother and sister-in-law from Texas also joined us for dinner and visited a few hours.    I forgot to get a photo of the table before we ate, but here we are all around  the table after eating.

Cousins played with cousins--

Nate and Grayson played farming.

Chance was helping Clara out.

Payton and Cael managed to stay away from the camera.

I'll leave you with this parting shot of some of the adults.

And what do you think they were looking at??????

Shop Til You Drop!!

This is EXACTLY what we did this weekend.  Kathy, Trina, Trilby, and I began the weekend by shopping at VF Friday night since Trilby had an extra 30% employee discount.  We got GREAT buys, really we did!!  After a late night snack we headed home to bed.

We were up bright and early Saturday morning to head for Des Moines.  We have ladies day out to attend the big craft show at the fairgrounds each year.  Last year we centered our day around pregnant girls. (Well, just Trina that we knew of at the time.)  This year we centered some activities around babies!  Brittany stayed home to rest since Dakota hadn't been sleeping well, and we took two cars so Tasha could drop Clara off at her other grandma's for the day.

We spent several hours at the craft show, and some of us got great buys!  Then we headed for Jordan Creek Mall.  We usually eat at The CheeseCake Factory, but someone(umm....Kathy?) said she didn't really like it, so we ate at Joe's Crab Shack.  We had to find something to do while we waited so we chose to do this:

We agreed to find a new place to eat next year.  Any suggestions???

I forgot to take my camera, so we took a photo with my phone, but blogger won't load it!  

We hit the mall, Target, and Wal-Mart and finally made it home about 9:00p.m.

Good company, good laughs, good buys, and good food made for a great day.  

We'll do it again in 2011!!

Family Fun

My mom and aunt came from Texas for a visit, so we gathered together to spend the day on Saturday.  Here Mom is with all of her great-grandchildren except two.  Payton is 10, Cael- 7, Nate- 4, Evan -4, (Chance-14 mos.), Grayson--9 mos., (Kadelynn--8 mos.), Dakota--4 mos., and Clara--4 mos.  Kadelynn and Chance weren't there.

It was hard to get them to all look at the camera at the same time!!

We had a great time with the babies.

Cousins had fun playing together!

And there was a little Hot Wheels.com game playin'.

Mom brought her Christmas gifts for everyone, and the kids had a great time opening gifts.

And a great time was had by all!!

What "things" Could You NOT Live Without???

In preparation for something we were going to write for Thanksgiving, I discussed Wants & Needs with my students this week, which is always an interesting discussion.  That along with Trina's post about her piano got me thinking about "things" we love and certainly CAN live without, but would prefer not to.  Trina's would be a piano.  I had to think long and hard about this because I couldn't decide between books and sewing.  But in the end books won out!  Over the years I have gotten so much from books.  They have been an escape when I'm stressed, tired, or just need a break.  They helped me get an education, help me each day in my job, and help me get my credits to keep my teaching license. Many conversations in my life, both professional and social, have centered around books.  They have helped me feed my family great food. They gave me advice about raising my children.  I have turned to them for medical advice many times.  And, I couldn't have learned to sew without my books.  Oh, I could have been creative since I don't always use a pattern, but I need that book to keep my machine going!  I could go on and on...

What "things" can you not live without?

Thank You, Veterans

Thank you to all Veterans!

Take time to thank a Veteran and remember those who have fought for our country and those who have died for our country.

Weekend Visitors

We had a couple of little visitors this past weekend.  Clara came to visit Saturday afternoon while her parents went out for supper.

We had fun playing and cuddling.

Then on Sunday Trina and Tanner came down to help with our remodeling project, and of course Grayson came along.  

It was my job to take care of him!

Then Clara came back to visit while Grayson was here.

Clara wasn't too sure about Grayson!

It's always a good weekend when we spend some time with grandkids!

Rotini Macaroni Salad

One of our family favorites comes from Bud's sister Judy.  It is a creamy spiral macaroni salad.

24 oz. bag of rotini macaroni cooked

2c. shredded carrots

1 diced green pepper

1 diced onion

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

salt & pepper

Cook and cool macaroni.  

Add carrots, onion, and peppers.

In another bowl combine sweetened condensed milk, mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Add to macaroni and cool.  This is really better the second day.

What a sweet creamy accompaniment to a meal!  

I'm linking to Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.  Go over and check out the great recipes!

Fall Around My Yard

I love fall!  The mums are fantastic.

I have tried for years to grow mums.  I had a good start and then we dug up the front of the house for the addition.  I've planted some every year since.

Finally this year I had three small ones that came up for the first time, and three large bunches that are older and looking great!

The sedum is ready for fall.  There's the last red rose in the corner.

The Knock -Out roses are confused.  I know the photo is blurry, but you can see the new bud.  Don't think it's going to get a chance to bloom.

These pretty little impatients even survived the hard frost.

The purple coneflowers are ready for the snow.

And the burning bush is  turning red.

Here's hoping fall lasts a lonnnnnnng time!  All of these colors are much prettier than white!