Happy Halloween!

Are you ready for all the trick-or-treaters tonight?
My kids are anxiously awaiting for evening time to get here. I on the other hand am not looking forward to it.
It's cold out there!
No snow, though we did get some flurries over the weekend but it's windy and it looks like it could put the rain down any minute now.
The weekend was pretty quiet.
I spent the whole day in the kitchen Saturday making a nice meal. I tried a new recipe for hot rolls which turned out really good and played around with a cake recipe that I may post about later. We spent our evenings sitting around the  kitchen table playing Yahtzee with the kids.

On the sewing front I did manage to get my mini "Give Thanks" pillows finished as well as another stitchery that I'll show you as soon as I get it framed. I also decided to list a few of my stitcheries on Ebay just to see how they do. If they sell then super and if they don't then I'll place them back in the box until I get enough made to take to a show.

Diane over at Olde-Time-Stitchin had a fabulous sale the other day for her email list cutomers and I decided to take advantage of it. Now I have so many new patterns that I can't wait to tie into ~ kinda hard to pick which one I want to start on first.

Well that's about all that is new around here. The kids are home from school today due to a teacher instructional day so we're just being lazy & enjoying the day.

Have a safe evening out there and watch out for all the little ghosts and goblins!

ME from A - Z

I've seen this on a good many blogs lately and thought I'd join in on the fun.
Want to know a little bit about me?
Then read on!

A is for my age which is 38

B is for bike riding on the weekends with my Dad

C is for Calla Lilies which are my favorite flowers

D is for dishes ~ my most dreaded chore of the day

E is for embroidery & stitching which I love to do

F is for my family for without them I would be lost

G is for glasses because without them I'd not be able to read all my favorite blogs

H is for my height which is 5'2"

I is for the sweet iced tea that I sip on all day

J is for John Deere items that I love to collect

K is for kisses. Hubby and I never leave the house without a kiss goodbye.

L is for lefty, which I am. I do everything with my left hand. (Anyone know how to teach a lefty how to knit?)

M is for Misty ~ my best friend since kindergarten

N is for my Nike running shoes that make my feet happy

O is for my favorite outfit which is a pair of shorts and a t-shirt

P is for the puzzles that I love to work (jigsaw)

Q is for my favorite movie quote. (from Love Comes Softly)
"The truth of God's love is not that he allows bad things to happen - it's his promise that he will be there with us when they do."

R is for recipes ~another collection of mine

S is for Survivor ~the one show that I never miss

T is for my telephone that I am always talking on

U is for what upsets me ~ rude and dishonest people

V is for Vanilla Buttercrunch candles ~ my favorite scent

W is for western romances which are my favorite books to read

X (I'm cheating on this one) how about Xword puzzles that I love to work....does that count as an answer?

Y is for yucky foods which is seafood of any kind

Z is for zip lining which I hope I get to do someday

Well that's me A - Z.

Roasting Veggies

Howdy all!

It's been a very busy weekend with not a lot of down time. (No time for sewing!)
Saturday was warm and sunny as we spent the day working at my parent's house. It was time to pull the forms up around the new concrete and then till a little of the yard to level it off a bit, plant new grass and clean up. As soon as that was done I cleaned myself up and then off for the rest of the evening to a Haunted House Halloween party with Gage.

Miranda's 7th Annual Halloween Party

Sunday was spent tidying up the house and catching up on odds and ends.
Now today I can rest a bit...Aahhhhh..that's better!
But not until I get those veggies cooked. 

So once schooling was done this morning I headed to the kitchen to get the veggies ready.  This is my favorite way to have veggies. Just peel, dice, season and roast.

I like to use onions, sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, carrots, peppers and white potatoes in mine but you can use anything that you like.
Dice them up and throw them all in a big bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season. I use McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning, Mrs. Dash Table Blend and dried Basil but again you can season with your own favorite spices.

Toss the veggies around with your hands and then pour them out onto a large greased cookie sheet. I usually end up with 2 cookie sheets full. Spread them out...don't just pile them on one or they won't cook evenly.
Place in a 350° oven and bake until done. I usually cook mine for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, turning them once every 1/2 hour.

I've got mine done already so I'm off to enjoy the rest of this rainy afternoon just stitching away!

Storms a Coming!

I love weather!
I'm always in awe of the sights, sounds & smell of a thunderstorm. The sheer power of wind, the energy of flood waters and the beauty of newly fallen snow.
Whether it's snow, rain, sleet or hail you can bet you will find me glued to the windows watching it.

A few nights ago a cold front approached our area bringing these dark clouds followed by rain...just what we needed (NOT). We've had so much rain this season that I'm not sure that the ground is ever going to dry out.

I quickly grabbed my camera and ran to the back yard snapping these pictures. I couldn't believe how dark the sky was getting. Pretty neat looking!

I always tell my children that whatever career they choose in life be sure it's one that they will be happy getting up each morning and going to.
I think when I grow up *wink wink* I want to be a meteorologist or better yet maybe a stormchaser.

Have a great weekend!

Concrete Poured and Lions & Tigers & Bears...Oh My!

It's been a few day since I posted so I thought I'd get on and catch up a little.
The rain began falling Sunday night but not enough to ruin Monday's pour. The guys got the sidewalk all done by noon and we double roped it off in hopes to keep the deer off of it until it was good and dry. It worked! No hoof prints anywhere.
I love watching the deer early in the morning but on the flip side they are ruining my mums. I watched a buck eating acrons under the tree at my parents house this morning then he crossed the street and came to my house to chomp on my mums...grrr!

These are last years mums...much prettier than the current ones.

Speaking of animals...did any of you see the news this morning about the wild animals that escaped from a preserve in Zanesville, OH?
Lions and tigers and bears...Oh MY!
I just can't imagine!
Schools were closed and people were asked to stay indoors until all the animals can be found. Flashing signs along the interstate say Exotic animals...stay in vehicle.
Our local news at noon stated that all were found and taken care of (most killed for public safety)except for a monkey, grizzly bear and Mt. lion that are still running loose. Sad to see all those poor animals killed but for everyone's safety it needed done.
Here's a few links if you care to read about it.
WTOV 9 News Wheeling, WV
USA Today
MSNBC News 25 min. press conference from today with lots of detail

Witches Boots

Hi everyone!

Well the weekend is almost over and it will be back to school and work.....(sigh)!

It's been a pretty uneventful weekend here.
No major "going ons" so I had the time to sit and work on these little witches boots pillows. The stitchery pattern is from CountryBerries. I found it in one of the newspaper flyers that I get at my local fabric shop. (Can't remember the name of the paper but I love browsing through it. There is always a few freebie patterns in it.

We've had pretty nice weather all weekend ~ sunny and mild. Yesterday was a tad on the windy side though. I thought I'd take advantage of the wind and hang my laundry out but that wasn't such a good idea. The strong winds broke one of my lines.
Today proved to be a better day with not as much wind.
Tomorrow is concrete day so we're hoping for no rain though we've had a few sprinkles this evening.
Dad has been trying to get his new sidewalk in for a few weeks but due to all the rain that we've had it's been impossible. Keeping our fingers crossed that the next round of rain will hold off at least until Tuesday.
Well that's it for my weekend. Hope you had a great one!

A Fall Drive through the Country

As I look out my front porch I can see the bright orange trees that dot the hillsides. It is so pretty. Many of the trees are just beginning to turn but those with the orange leaves stand out from them all. 
We finished our school lessons early today so we thought we'd take off for a ride in the country.
We headed to Fish Creek first.

The leaves were turning but weren't quite as vibrant as I had hoped for. We did spot a few animals though along the way.

A nice size squirrel playing near the road,

a few cows wading in the creek and a big turtle that I almost ran over.

We decided to turn around and head back to town.
After a quick pitstop at the house we drove up to Grandview Park where the colors were much brighter.

               I loved this tree with it's two tone leaves.

While there we walked around looking for different shaped leaves (school project) and of course what's a trip to Grandview without visiting the playground.

We'll have to take another drive in the next few weeks to see if the colors get even better.

Tapioca Pudding Made in a Crockpot

Tapioca is one of my favorite puddings. I've always bought it from the store though. I never really thought about making homemade until I found this recipe.
It's easy to make but it does need time to cook and then completely chill so you may want to make it a day ahead of time.

Crockpot Tapioca

2 quarts milk
3/4 cup dry small pearl tapioca
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
3-4 cups whipped cream or whipped topping (Cool Whip)

Combine milk, tapioca and sugar in a greased crockpot.
Cover and cook on High 3 hours.
Beat eggs in a small bowl and  then add a little of the hot milk mixture to it and stir.
Whisk eggs into crockpot and stir in the vanilla.
Cover and cook on High for 30 minutes.
Cool to room temperature and then chill in refrigerator.
When completely chilled, beat with a hand mixer to fluff.
Enjoy!

On the homefront:
We're hoping for a better day today. Katie's been sick since Saturday afternoon. She started out with a fever and what I thought was going to be a head cold but yesterday the fever & cold symptoms were gone only to be replaced with a stomach bug of some sort. She spent the day on the couch watching TV and sleeping. She did manage late last night to keep some fluids down so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the worst is over and she will begin feeling better soon. I just hope none of the rest of us gets it!

Foggy Start to Oglebayfest

This is what it looked like as Katie & I headed out Saturday morning to go to Oglebayfest. As we headed up the hill to Oglebay the fog began to disappear and by the time we reached the top it was gone. The first thing I saw that caught my attention were these horses heading over to the parade route

and then the brightly colored trees just beginning to show their fall colors.

We parked near the mansion and I of course had to take a few picks of that too! *Click on pictures to enlarge*

Oglebay Mansion

The grounds around the mansion

Mansion Pond

We walked along the pathway to the festival tents.

They had everything!
Wooden crafts, pottery, candles, felt pillows with applique, broom making, glass blowing, and so much more.
Oh and did I mention food!

In the end I only came home with a few things even though I saw plenty that I would have liked to bring home.
Blue Smoke Salsa and Guacamole chips which are sooo good and this little felt pillow.

Working in the Mud

It's been about a week and a half since my Dad had the old sidewalk in front of his house removed. It's been so rainy though that today was the first day that we've been able to get out ang get the new sidewalk ready to pour.
While the boys were in school I helped Dad frame the new sidewalk in. Then after school & dinner the boys got to take their turn in the mud.
I didn't hear any complaining though!

They were too happy to have a sledgehammer in hand and the permission to use it.

All Out of Stuffing!

A Chesnut Junction Pattern

There is nothing worse than getting to the end of a project only to realize that you can't complete it because you are out of stuffing or whatever else it may be...thread, buttons, etc.
I spent the whole day Saturday in front of the tv watching the Hallmark movies and stitching this little picture. I completed the hand stitching but wanted to make it into a pillow.
No time on Sunday to work on it because we had a wedding to attend...the coldest wedding that I have ever been to. It took place in an outdoor shelter at Wheeling Park.

Pond at Wheeling Park

It was a beautiful fall themed wedding. The only problem was that Mother Nature didn't cooperate that day. It felt more like a winter wedding.
Rain and wind along with temps. in the 40's. Yes, I know 40's aren't that cold but when you are standing on top of a hill with a steady wind blowing it feels a whole lot colder.
The poor girls in the wedding were in their fancy dresses but you'd see them sneak off every so often to grab a winter coat so they could get warmed up a bit.

The bride and groom didn't seem to mind, they were as happy as could be.

The Happy Couple

After we got our schooling done  today I began working on the pillow again. I finished it and began stuffing it BUT I ran out of stuffing....argh!
I guess it will have to sit in the unfinished pile until I get to the store to get more.
That's OK though because I have plenty more stitcheries to work on until then!
Have a great evening!